Methods of administering wagering games

ABSTRACT

Methods of administering wagering games may involve accepting an ante wager. Initial cards may be dealt, at least one card face up. A suit selected from spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts may be randomly designated to be a power suit for a current round of play. A play wager may be accepted, after presenting the option to place the play wager or make a player election to fold. An additional card available may be dealt for each of the initial cards of the power suit. A payout on the ante and play wagers may be paid when the best poker hand formable is a predetermined winning hand, and the ante and play wagers may be collected when the best poker hand formable is not a predetermined winning hand.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to methods of administering wageringgames for casinos and other gaming establishments, and related systemsand apparatuses. More specifically, disclosed embodiments relate tomethods of administering poker-style wagering games involving dealingadditional cards in a number equal to or greater than a number ofinitially dealt cards of a randomly designated power suit.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In some embodiments, methods of administering wagering games may involveaccepting an ante wager from a player on a poker-style game playedagainst a pay table. Initial cards may be dealt to the player from a setof randomized cards comprising at least one deck of at least 52 standardplaying cards. A suit selected from spades, diamonds, clubs, and heartsmay be randomly designated to be a power suit for a current round ofplay. The player may be permitted to view at least a portion of thedealt cards. A play wager may be accepted from the player, responsive towhich the ante wager remains in play, after presenting the player withthe option to place the play wager or make a player election to fold.After accepting the play wager, any cards dealt face-down or otherwiseunrevealed may be revealed to the player. After accepting the play wageran revealing any previously unrevealed cards, one or more additionalcards available to the player may be dealt for each of the initial cardsof the power suit. The ante and play wagers may be resolved by comparinga best five-card poker hand formable from a total number of cardsavailable to the player to the pay table. Payouts on the ante and playwagers may be paid to the player when the best five-card poker handformable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand, and the ante and play wagers may be collected when thebest five-card poker hand formable from the cards available to theplayer is not a predetermined winning hand.

In some embodiments, methods of administering wagering games may involveaccepting an ante wager from a player on a poker-style game playedagainst a pay table. A mandatory power suit wager may be accepted fromthe player on a subsequently designated power suit. Initial cards, atleast one card face up and at least one card face down, may be dealt tothe player from a set of randomized cards comprising at least one deckof at least 52 standard playing cards. A suit selected from spades,diamonds, clubs, and hearts may be randomly designated to be a powersuit for a current round of play. A play wager may be accepted from theplayer, responsive to which the ante and power suit wagers remain inplay, after presenting the player with the option to place a play wageror make a player election to fold. After accepting the play wager, eachface-down card may be revealed to the player. After accepting the playwager and revealing the cards initially dealt face-down, one or moreadditional cards available to the player may be dealt for each of theinitial cards of the power suit. The ante and play wagers may beresolved by comparing a best five-card poker hand formable from a totalnumber of cards available to the player to the pay table. A payout onthe ante and play wagers may be paid to the player when the bestfive-card poker hand formable from the cards available to the player isa predetermined winning hand, and the ante and play wagers may becollected when the best five-card poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is not a predetermined winning hand. The powersuit wager may be resolved by determining whether a number of the cardsdealt to the player of the power suit is greater than or equal to apredesignated winning number. Another payout on the power suit wager maybe paid to the player when the number of the cards dealt to the playerof the power suit is greater than or equal to the predesignated winningnumber, and the power suit wager may be collected when the number of theinitial cards dealt to the player of the power suit is less than thepredesignated winning number.

In still other embodiments, methods of administering wagering games overnetworks utilizing processors may involve receiving at a servercomprising a processor an electronic signal indicating that allocationof funds of monetary value to an ante wager on a poker-style game playedagainst a pay table is authorized by a player. The processor mayrandomly assign rank and suit information correlating to initial cardsto the player from rank and suit information correlating to a set ofcards comprising at least one deck of at least 52 standard playingcards. The processor may randomly designate rank and suit informationcorrelating to at least one of the initial cards to be displayed to theplayer and randomly designate rank and suit information correlating toat least another of the initial cards to remain unrevealed to theplayer. The processor may randomly designate a suit selected fromspades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts to be a power suit for a currentround of play. The server may cause the initial cards dealt to theplayer to be revealed on a display device.

The server may receive an electronic signal indicating that allocationof funds of monetary value to a play wager is authorized by the player,responsive to which the ante wager remains in play, after presenting theplayer with the option to place the play wager or make a player electionto fold.

After receiving at the server the electronic signal indicating thatallocation of funds of monetary value to a play wager is authorized bythe player, an electronic signal may be sent from the server instructingthat the rank and suit information correlating to any additional cardsinitially displayed face-down be revealed to the player. After receivingat the server the electronic signal indicating that allocation of fundsof monetary value to a play wager is authorized by the player, theprocessor may randomly assign rank and suit information correlating toany additional cards dealt to the player from the rank and suitinformation correlating to the set of cards for each card assigned tothe player of the power suit. The ante and play wagers may be resolvedby comparing at the processor a best five-card poker hand formable froma total number of cards assigned to the player to the pay table. Theprocessor may generate an electronic signal indicating that payment of apayout on the ante and play wagers to the player is authorized when thebest five-card poker hand formable from the cards assigned to the playeris a predetermined winning hand, and the processor may generate anelectronic signal indicating that transfer of an amount of the ante andplay wagers to a house account is authorized when the best five-cardpoker hand formable from the cards assigned to the player is not apredetermined winning hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While this disclosure concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming specific embodiments, various features andadvantages of embodiments within the scope of this disclosure may bemore readily ascertained from the following description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart diagram of a method of administering a wageringgame, according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a playing surface for implementation of a methodof administering a wagering game, according to an embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a gaming table configured forimplementation of embodiments of wagering games in accordance with thisdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an individual electronic gaming deviceconfigured for implementation of embodiments of wagering games inaccordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a table configured for implementation ofembodiments of wagering games in accordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a table configuredfor implementation of embodiments of wagering games in accordance withthis disclosure, wherein the implementation includes a virtual dealer;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a gaming system for implementingembodiments of wagering games in accordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a gaming system for implementingembodiments of wagering games including a live dealer feed;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computer for acting as a gaming systemfor implementing embodiments of wagering games in accordance with thisdisclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of data flows between variousapplications/services for supporting the game, feature or utility of thepresent disclosure for mobile/interactive gaming;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart diagram of a method of administering a wageringgame, which may be at least partially player-pooled, according to aplayer-pooled progressive embodiment; and

FIG. 12 is a flowchart diagram of a method of administering a wageringgame, which may also be at least partially player-pooled, according to adividend refund embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrations presented in this disclosure are not meant to beactual views of any particular apparatus or component thereof, but aremerely idealized representations employed to describe illustrativeembodiments. Thus, the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Elementswith the same number, but including a different alphabet character as asuffix should be considered as multiple instantiations of substantiallysimilar elements and may be referred generically without an alphabetcharacter suffix.

The terms “gaming,” “gambling,” or the like, refer to activities, games,sessions, rounds, hands, rolls, operations, and other events related towagering games the outcome of which is at least partially based on oneor more random events (“chance” or “chances”), and on which wagers maybe placed by a player. In addition, the words “wager,” “bet,” “bid,” orthe like, refer to any type of wager, bet, or gaming venture that isplaced on random events, whether of monetary or non-monetary value.Points, credits, and other items of value may be purchased, earned, orotherwise issued prior to beginning the wagering game. In someembodiments, purchased points, credits, or other items of value may havean exchange rate that is not one-to-one to the currency used by theuser. For example, a wager may include money, points, credits, symbols,or other items that may have some value related to a wagering game.Wagers may be placed in wagering games that involve the risk ofreal-world monetary value for the potential of payouts with real-worldmonetary value (e.g., the “play-for-pay,” such as “house-banked,”“player-banked,” “player-pooled” including “player-pooled progressive,”and “dividend refund” configurations, each of which is described in moredetail below) or in wagering games that involve no real-world monetaryrisks for the player (e.g., the “play-for-fun” and “social play-for-fun”configurations described in more detail below).

As used herein, the term “wager” includes any form of wagering value,including money, casino chips, other physical means for payment, andonline or remote electronic authorization of a wager in any acceptableform to the casino or online or virtual game host. Also included arephysical representations of money (e.g., casino chips) at a local game,as well as virtual representations of money in the form of electronicauthorizations of a transfer of money and digital representations ofmoney (e.g., digital representations of bills or coins, digitalrepresentations of chips, numerical quantities of money, numericalquantities of points, or numerical quantities of credits) at a local orremote electronic gaming device. As used herein, the term “wageringelement” means and includes objects and symbols used to signify theacceptance of a wager. For example, physical wagering elements includephysical money (e.g., bills and coins) and physical wagering tokens(e.g., poker chips), which may or may not be redeemable for monetaryvalue and may or may not include electronic identifiers (e.g., RFIDchips) embedded within the tokens, enabling electronic sensing andtracking of wagering. Virtual wagering elements include, for example,images (e.g., images of money or poker chips) and text (e.g., a stringof numbers), which may or may not be redeemable for monetary value. Inthe “play-for-fun” and “social play-for-fun” configurations, a “wager”may not have a cash value (i.e., a real-world monetary value).

For the purposes of this description, it will be understood that when anaction related to accepting wagers, making payouts, dealing cards,selecting cards, or other actions associated with a player or a dealeris described herein, and such description includes a player or a dealertaking the action, the results of the action may be computer generatedand may be displayed on a live or virtual table or electronic display,and, if applicable, the reception or detection of such an action in anelectronic form where player and dealer choices, selections, or otheractions are received at an electronic interface. This further includesthe results of a virtual dealer and virtual players, where the actionsdescribed are actually generated by a computer (typically associatedwith an online game). By way of a further example, if dealing of a cardis described herein, the description includes (but is not limited to)the following: the dealing of a card by a dealer from a deck, shuffler,shoe, or other card source and the reception or placement of the card ata table location associated with a player or reception directly by aplayer; the generation and transmission of an electronic indication orrepresentation of a card from a game play source or server to anelectronic receiver, where the receiver may be at a table (using virtualcards) including players and/or virtual players and/or a dealer orvirtual dealer, on a gaming terminal, at a public display in a casino,at a remote location (e.g., using online or Internet game play), or atother locations. Also included is the representation of a card on adisplay or displays, and, if applicable to the action described, anelectronic reception of an indication that the card has been received,selected, or otherwise interacted with at a location associated with aplayer, or, associated with a virtual player. In addition, dealing of acard may refer to revealing a representation of a card on a scratch-offcard (also referred to as “scratchers”).

Referring to FIG. 1, a flowchart diagram of a method 100 ofadministering a wagering game is shown. The method 100 may involveaccepting an ante wager from a player on a poker-style game playedagainst a pay table, as indicated at 102. The ante wager may bemandatory to grant the player permission to participate in a poker-stylegame wherein payouts may be paid for achieving one of a set ofpredetermined winning poker hands. The mandatory ante wager may beaccepted, for example, by physically receiving money or a representationof money (e.g., a chip or token) on a designated betting area, by aprocessor receiving a signal from a user interface indicating a wagerhas been received, or by receiving electronic authorization to charge aplayer account (e.g., a credit account or a bank account). Morespecifically, the ante wager may be accepted, for example, by a dealerreceiving one or more physical wagering elements within a designatedarea 128 (see FIG. 2) on a surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6), by automatically detecting (e.g.,using sensors, such as, for example, optical or RFID sensors) thepresence of one or more wagering elements within a designated area 128(see FIG. 2) on a surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a playing table 200, 400,or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6), or by receiving electronic authorization ata processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to charge aplayer account via a player interface 332, 416, 532, 624, or 644 (seeFIGS. 4-7, 9) or dealer interface 418 (see FIG. 5), where the playerinterface may be remotely located from the dealer or a server of whichthe processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) is acomponent. As a specific, nonlimiting example, a mandatory ante wagermay be accepted by receiving a physical, monetarily valuable wageringelement 212 (see FIG. 3) in a first designated area 128 (see FIG. 2) ona surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS.3, 5, 6).

In some embodiments, a power suit wager may be accepted from the player.The power suit wager may be mandatory to grant the player permission toparticipate in the game in some embodiments. In other embodiments, thepower suit wager may be optional, such that the player may participatein the game even though a power suit wager is not received from theplayer. The power suit wager may be on the occurrence of a predeterminednumber of power suited cards dealt to the player of a subsequentlydesignated power suit, which is described in greater detail below. Thepower suit wager may be performed, for example, by performing any of theactions described previously in connection with accepting the antewager, with the exception that a separately designated area 132 (seeFIG. 2) on the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table 200, 400, or500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6) may be used to receive one or more wageringelements for the power suit wager.

In some embodiments, a bonus wager may be accepted from the player. Thebonus wager may be mandatory to grant the player permission toparticipate in the game in some embodiments. In other embodiments, thebonus wager may be optional, such that the player may participate in thegame even though a bonus wager is not received from the player. When thebonus wager is accepted, a player prediction of a characteristic of thesubsequently designated power suit may also be accepted. For example,acceptance of the bonus wager may be accompanied by acceptance of aplayer prediction of a color (e.g., red or black) of the power suit tobe subsequently designated or of which specific suit (e.g., spades,diamonds, clubs, or hearts) may be subsequently designated as a powersuit. The bonus wager may be performed, for example, by performing anyof the actions described previously in connection with accepting theante wager, with the exception that another separately designated area130 (see FIG. 2) on the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table 200,400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6) may be used to receive one or morewagering elements for the bonus wager.

Additional bonus wagers may be offered, instead of or in addition to theabove-described bonus wager. For example, a progressive bonus wager maybe accepted to participate in a side bet on the occurrence of apredetermined winning poker hand, such as a five-card poker hand.Optional side bets can pay fixed amounts, odds payouts, a jackpot prize,a progressive prize, a portion of a progressive prize or a prize ofvalue, such as a car, a vacation, or another object of value, forexample.

After wagering is concluded, initial cards may be dealt to the player asindicated at 104. A total number of initial cards dealt to the playermay be, for example, less than, equal to, or more than a total number ofcards permissible in a final poker hand to be formed by the player. Morespecifically, the total number of initial cards dealt to the player maybe, for example, two, three, four, five, six, or seven. In someembodiments, at least one card may be dealt face up and at least onecard may be dealt face down. A number of the initial cards dealt face upmay be, for example, one fewer than the total number of initial cards,half the totally number of initial cards, or just one. Morespecifically, the number of the initial cards dealt face up may be, forexample, two, three, or four. A number of the initial cards dealt facedown may be, for example, one fewer than the total number of initialcards, half the totally number of initial cards, or just one. Morespecifically, the number of the initial cards dealt face down may be,for example, one, two, or three. As a specific, nonlimiting example,five initial cards may be dealt to the player, four face up and one facedown (e.g., into a designated area 122 of a player position 120 (seeFIG. 2)). In other embodiments, all of the cards may be dealt face up,or all of the cards may be dealt face down.

The cards may be dealt from a set of randomized cards including, forexample, at least one deck of at least 52 standard playing cards. Morespecifically, the set of randomized cards may include, for example, onedeck of 52 standard playing cards (i.e., two through 10, jack, queen,king, and ace in each of spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts), multipledecks of 52 standard playing cards (e.g., 2, 4, 6, or 8 decks), or oneor more decks of 52 standard playing cards and one or more additionalcards (e.g., wild cards, bonus cards, jokers, cut cards, and promotionalcards). The cards may be randomized, for example, by hand-shuffling aphysical deck, by machine-shuffling a physical deck using acard-shuffling device 204B (see FIG. 3), or by randomly selectingcomputer-simulated cards from a computer-simulated set of cards using aprocessor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9). The cards maybe dealt, for example, by hand-dealing physical cards from a physicalset of cards, by hand-dealing cards removed from a card-shuffling device204B (see FIG. 3), by hand delivering groups of cards randomized by acard-shuffling device 204B (see FIG. 3), or by displayingcomputer-simulated cards on an electronic display device 210, 332, 374,404, 416, 430, 560, 564, 532, 622, 658, and 688 (see FIGS. 3-6, 8, 9).

A suit may be randomly designated as a power suit for a current round ofplay, as indicated at 106. For example, one suit selected from spades,diamonds, clubs, and hearts may be designated through a completelycontrolled random selection process as a power suit for the currentround of play. As another example, multiple, though still fewer thanall, suits selected from spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts may bedesignated through a random selection process as power suits for thecurrent round of play. In other embodiments, one or more card ranks maybe randomly designated as a power rank instead of randomly designating apower suit. For example, all cards ranked two or five could be randomlydesignated as a power rank for a round of play.

As used herein, the phrase “round of play” means and includes a periodof time beginning at a phase of the game wherein wagers are accepted andending after a phase of the game wherein wagers are resolved, afterwhich a new round of play may be initiated. Random designation of a suitto be a power suit may occur, for example, before ante wagers areaccepted, after ante wagers are accepted, before dealing initial cards,after dealing initial cards, or any combination of these. Randomdesignation of a suit to be a power suit for the current round of playmay occur before acceptance of any play wagers or elections to fold, asdescribed in greater detail below.

Random designation of a suit as a power suit or power rank may involve,for example, sending an electronic signal to a random number generator350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) (e.g., automatically atthe designated phase of the game or in response to input from a dealerinterface 418 (see FIG. 5)) and using a processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to associate a random result from the generatorwith a suit or utilizing a physical random process (e.g., lottery ballhopper having the suits shown on the balls therein, die roll with thesuits on the sides of the die (e.g., a four-sided or eight-sided die),wheel spin with the suits in distinct regions of the wheel) to designatea suit as the power suit. More specifically, a suit may be randomlydesignated as a power suit by, for example, utilizing a random numbergenerator 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to randomlyselect a suit and displaying the randomly designated suit on a displaydevice 210, 332, 374, 404, 416, 430, 560, 564, 532, 622, 658, and 688(see FIGS. 3-6, 8, 9). Example embodiments of random number generatorssuitable for randomly designating a suit as a power suit and displaydevices suitable for displaying the randomly generated power suit aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,529, issued Jan. 1, 2013, to Snow andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/450,008, filed Aug. 1, 2014, toStasson et al., the disclosure of each of which is incorporated in thisdocument in its entirety by this reference.

In some embodiments, one or more of the suits may be predesignated as an“enhanced” suit (e.g., a “prime” suit or a “premium” suit) before one ofthe suits is randomly designated as a power suit. For example, each ofthe suits, one of the suits (e.g., one of spades, diamonds, clubs, andhearts), half of the suits (e.g., both red suits, both black suits, onered and one black suit), or three of the suits may be predetermined tobe an enhanced suit. The suit or suits predesignated as enhanced suitsmay remain fixed from round to round in some embodiments. In otherembodiments, the suit or suits may be predesignated as enhanced suitsmay change from round to round. For example, a suit or multiple suits(e.g., any, a combination, or all of spades, diamonds, clubs, andhearts) may be randomly predesignated as enhanced suits before a newround of play is initiated (e.g., before any ante wagers are accepted).

Random predetermination of a suit or suits as an enhanced suit may beaccomplished by performing any of the actions discussed previously inconnection with the random designation of a suit or suits as a powersuit. When an enhanced suit is randomly designated as the power suit forthe current round of play, the actions performed during the subsequentphases of the game in the current round of play, and the resultingoutcomes, may differ from those that would otherwise be performed whenthe randomly designated power suit is not an enhanced suit or when theenhanced suit is not involved in the action or outcome. Embodiments ofthe different actions, and resulting outcomes, deriving from the randomdesignation of a predetermined enhanced suit as a power suit for thecurrent round of play are described in greater detail below.

In some embodiments, the specific action to be taken when the randomlydesignated power suit is an enhanced suit may be associated with onlyone suit. For example, payout increases, as discussed in greater detailbelow, may only be applicable to diamonds when diamonds are randomlydesignated as the power suit, and may not occur when other suits arerandomly designated as the power suit. As another example, returninglosing wagers to the player, as discussed in greater detail below, mayonly be applicable to hearts when hearts are randomly designated as thepower suit, and may not occur when other suits are randomly designatedas the power suit. In other embodiments, random designation of the powersuit may also involve randomly selecting which specific, nonstandardactions will occur and which suits they are associated with. Forexample, any random selection method described previously in connectionwith random designation of the power suit may be used to randomly assignpayout increases to a specific suit and to randomly assign return oflosing ante and play wagers to another, different, specific suit. Instill other embodiments, assignment of specific actions to specificsuits to enhance those suits when randomly designated as power suits mayoccur on a scheduled, rotating basis (e.g., changing in a specificpattern from round to round, shift to shift, day to day, or otherselected change-triggering event).

After one of the suits has been randomly designated as a power suit, aplay wager or an election to fold may be accepted from the player, asindicated at 108 in FIG. 1. When a play wager is accepted, the antewager previously accepted from the player may remain in play, asindicated at 108. In some embodiments, acceptance of the play wager mayalso keep any side wagers previously accepted from the player (e.g., thepower suit wager, the bonus wager, any other side wagers) in play. Morespecifically, the amounts accepted for the ante wager and any side wageraccepted from the player may remain at risk when the play wager isaccepted from the player. As a specific, nonlimiting example, physical,monetarily valuable wagering elements associated with the ante wager andany side wager may be left in their respective designated areas 128through 132 (see FIG. 2) on the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of the gamingtable 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6), respectively. The play wagermay be accepted by performing any of the acts described previously inconnection with accepting the ante wager, except that another separatelydesignated area 134 (see FIG. 2) on the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of agaming table 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6) may be used to receiveone or more wagering elements for the play wager in some embodiments. Asa specific, nonlimiting example, the play wager may be accepted byreceiving a physical, monetarily valuable wagering element on thesurface 120 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS.3, 5, 6), such as, for example, in or adjacent to the designated area128 (see FIG. 2) for the ante wager. In other embodiments, no play wagermay be offered or required to continue participation in the wageringgame.

When a player's election to fold is accepted, at least one wageringelement associated with the ante wager may be collected for the house.For example, all wagering elements associated with the ante wager may becollected for the house. In some embodiments, each wagering elementassociated with one or more of the side wagers accepted from the player(e.g., the power suit wager, the bonus wager, any other side wagers) mayremain in play despite accepting a player's election to fold. In otherembodiments, each wagering element associated with one or more of theside wagers accepted from the player may be collected for the house whena player's election to fold is accepted. For example, each wageringelement associated with at least the ante wager and the optional powersuit wager accepted from the player may be collected for the house. Insome embodiments, accepting the player's election to fold may causes thehouse to collect both the ante and any power suit wager. When the playwager is received in such an embodiment and the player receives apredetermined winning power suit outcome, the house may pay an oddspayout with specific odds that differ between outcomes, for example.

A player's election to fold may be accepted, for example, by visually oraurally receiving a player's indication that the player elects to foldand physically retrieving at least one wagering element associated withthe ante wager from the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gaming table 200,400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6), visually or aurally receiving aplayer's indication that the player elects to fold and receiving at aprocessor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) an electronicindication that the player's election to fold has been accepted via adealer interface 418 (see FIG. 5), or receiving at a processor 350, 414,428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) an electronic indication that theplayer elects to fold via a player interface 332, 416, 532, 624, or 644(see FIGS. 4-7, 9) or dealer interface 418 (see FIG. 5) andelectronically authorizing collection of at least a portion of the antewager for the house. Wagering elements may be collected for the houseby, for example, physically retrieving one or more wagering elementsassociated with the ante wager from the surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of thegaming table 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6) and transferring themto a rack 208 or 420 (see FIGS. 3, 5) of house wagering elements orgenerating electronic authorization (e.g., automatically or in responseto a player or dealer input) at a processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642(see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to transfer an amount of the ante wager to a houseaccount 632 (see FIG. 7). The play wager may be optional in someembodiments. In other embodiments, the play wager may be mandatory, inwhich case any attempt by a player to fold may not be accepted.

After a play wager is accepted from the player, each remaining face-downcard may be revealed to the player, as indicated at 110. For example, adealer may physically turn cards initially dealt face down to the playerface up or rank and suit information correlating to previouslyunrevealed cards assigned to the player may be displayed on a displaydevice 210, 332, 374, 404, 416, 430, 560, 564, 532, 622, 658, and 688(see FIGS. 3-6, 8, 9). In some embodiments, an additional card or cardsavailable to the player may be dealt after accepting the play wagerinstead of, or in addition to, revealing the cards initially dealt facedown. For example, all the initial cards may be dealt face up, and anyremaining cards may be dealt after acceptance of the play wager.

After each of the initial cards dealt to the player have been revealed,an additional card from the set of randomized cards may be dealt foreach of the initial cards of the randomly designated power suit for thecurrent round of play, as indicated at 112. For example, a suit of eachinitial card dealt to the player may be compared to the randomlydesignated power suit, and a number of additional cards dealt from theset of randomized cards, and usable by the player to form a hand, may beequal to the number of initial cards dealt of the power suit. Forexample, a dealer may deal five cards to each participating playerposition 120 (see FIG. 2), and each player may receive up to five morecards, depending on the number of power suited cards in the initialhand.

In some embodiments, the additional cards dealt may be community cardsusable by each player participating in the wagering game, and the totalnumber of additional cards available to each player may be equal to thetotal number of initial cards of the power suit dealt to any player. Inother embodiments, the additional cards dealt may be player cards usableonly by the specific player, and the total number of additional cardsavailable to a given player may be equal to the total number of initialcards of the power suit dealt to that player.

In embodiments where the randomly designated power suit was alsopredesignated as an enhanced suit, multiple additional cards may bedealt from the set of randomized cards for each of the relevant initialcards of the power suit, which is also an enhanced suit.

For example, a number of additional cards dealt from the set ofrandomized cards, and usable by the player to form a hand, may be two,three, or four times the relevant number of initial cards of the powersuit in such embodiments. By randomly designating a suit as a powersuit, and dealing additional cards from the set of randomized cards tothe player, the number of random elements and potential outcomes for thegame may increase. However, the resulting game may still carry an edgefor the house while providing players with excitement, strategicoptions, and the potential for large and consistent payouts. Dealing theadditional cards may be accomplished by performing any of the actionsdescribed previously in connection with dealing the initial cards,although placement may be in a player position 120 (see FIG. 2) or in acommunity position 124 (see FIG. 2), depending on whether the additionalcards are player cards or community cards.

The ante and play wagers may be resolved by comparing a best poker handformable from a total number of cards available to the player to the paytable to determine whether the best poker hand is one of a set ofpredetermined winning hands, as indicated at 114. For example, a bestthree-card, four-card, five-card, six-card, or seven-card hand formablefrom all the cards available to the player may be compared to the paytable when resolving the ante and play wagers. Five-card poker rankingsmay include, for example, high card (e.g., with rankings increasing fromtwo to ten, jack, queen, king, to ace), pair, two pair, three of a kind,straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush, and royalflush. The pay table may define which hand ranks constitutepredetermined winning hands, and may display payout amounts forachieving specific hand ranks. For example, when the number of initialcards dealt to each player, including any face-down cards, is five, theset of predetermined winning hands may be based on five-card pokerrankings, and may include hands ranked a pair of kings and higher. Insome embodiments, the number of cards in a highest ranking hand to beevaluated may be equal a number of initial cards dealt to each player.For example, when two cards are dealt face up and one card is dealt facedown in the initial hand, the ranking system may be based on three-cardpoker hand rankings. Other numbers of initial cards and cards includablein a final hand may include, for example, three four, six, or seven,with poker rankings being based on three-, four-, six-, or seven-cardpoker rankings, for example.

The best poker hand formable from the total number of cards available tothe player may be compared to the pay table by, for example, visuallyinspecting the hand, electronically inspecting and evaluating the hand(e.g., using sensors, such as, for example, optical or RFID sensors anda processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9)), orelectronically evaluating a computer-simulated hand at a processor 350,414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to determine whether itconstitutes a predetermined winning hand. As a specific, nonlimitingexample, the cards available to the player may be visually inspected bythe dealer to determine the highest poker hand formable by the cards,and the highest poker hand may be compared to a pay table displayed onthe surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of the gaming table 200, 400, or 500 (seeFIGS. 3, 5, 6) or on a display device 210, 332, 374, 404, 416, 430, 560,564, 532, 622, 658, and 688 (see FIGS. 3-6, 8, 9).

When the best poker hand formable from the cards available to the playeris a predetermined winning hand, a payout on the ante and play wagersmay be paid to the player, as indicated at 116. For example, an evenmoney payout (i.e., a payout equal to the amount wagered) may be paid onthe ante wager, and a payout of an increasing amount may be paid on theplay wager for achieving increasingly unlikely hands. In someembodiments where the randomly designated power suit is an enhancedsuit, an amount of the payout on the ante and play wagers may beincreased relative to embodiments where the randomly designated powersuit is not an enhanced suit. For example, the amount of the payout maybe increased by a multiple of two, three, four, or five times when therandomly designated power suit is an enhanced suit, and the best pokerhand formable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand and at least one of the card in the best poker handformable from the cards available to the player is of the power suit. Inexamples, the amount of the payout may be increased by multiplying abase payout amount by a number of cards in the best poker hand formablefrom the cards available to the player of the power suit when therandomly designated power suit is an enhanced suit, and the best pokerhand formable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand. In other embodiments, the multiple applied to the payoutwhen an enhanced suit is identified may correspond to a number of powercards in the initial hand. For example, when hearts is selected as anenhanced power suit and the player initially receives five cards, two ofwhich are hearts, and two more cards are dealt, the payout may beenhanced by a multiple of two times.

In some embodiments, a value of the multiplier may increase as thelikelihood of achieving an associated predetermined winning handdecreases. In other embodiments, the value of the multiplier may be thesame for all predetermined winning hands. As another more specificexample, the amount of the payout may be increased by paying a payoutamount corresponding to a hand ranked one level higher than the rank ofthe best poker hand formable from the cards available to the player(e.g., by paying the amount displayed one line higher on the pay table)when the randomly designated power suit is an enhanced suit, and thebest poker hand formable from the cards available to the player is apredetermined winning hand.

As yet another example, the amount of the payout may be increased whenthe randomly designated power suit is an enhanced suit, and the bestpoker hand formable from the cards available to the player is apredetermined winning hand formed solely from cards of the power suit(e.g., is a flush, straight flush, or royal flush of cards of the powersuit).

A specific, nonlimiting example of a pay table for the payout on thebase game play wager is shown below:

Base Payout Amount Enhanced Suit Multiplier for Hand Achieved (PlayWager) Payout Amount Enhanced Suit Pair of Kings or 1:1 3:2 1.5 Aces TwoPair 3:2 3:1 1.5 Three of a Kind 3:1 4:1 2 Straight 4:1 6:1 2 Flush 6:17:1 2.5 Full House 7:1 25:1  2.5 Four of a Kind 25:1  30:1  3 StraightFlush 30:1  300:1  3 Royal Flush 300:1  600:1  3.5

Paying the payout may involve, for example, physically transferringwagering elements, crediting a win meter, or granting electronicauthorization to transfer funds to a player account. More specifically,the payout may be paid by, for example, physically giving wageringelements to a player on a playing surface 118 (see FIG. 2) of a gamingtable 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6), receiving electronicauthorization at a processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6,9) via a dealer interface 418 (see FIG. 5) to transfer funds from ahouse account server 632 (see FIG. 7) to a player account, orautomatically generating electronic authorization at the processor 350,414, 428, 597, or 642 (see FIGS. 4-6, 9) to transfer funds from anaccount server 632 (see FIG. 7) to a player account. As a specific,nonlimiting example, the payout may be paid by physically transferringwagering elements from a rack 208 or 420 (see FIGS. 3, 5) to the player.

When the best poker hand formable from the cards available to the playeris not a predetermined winning hand, an amount of the ante and playwagers may be collected for the house, as further indicated at 116,unless an exception applies, as described in greater detail below.Collecting the ante and play wagers for the house may involve, forexample, performing any of the acts described previously in connectionwith collecting the ante wager after accepting a player's election tofold.

In some embodiments, the amount of the ante and play wagers may bereturned to the player when the best poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is not a predetermined winning hand, but acondition relating to the power suit applies and the power suit is anenhanced suit. For example, the amount of the ante and play wagers maybe returned to the player when the best poker hand formable from thecards available to the player is not a predetermined winning hand, butthe best poker hand includes at least one card of the randomlydesignated power suit, which is also a predetermined enhanced suit. Morespecifically, the amount of the ante and play wagers may be returned tothe player when the best poker hand formable from the cards available tothe player is not a predetermined winning hand, but the best poker handincludes at least one royal card (i.e., a jack, queen, king, or ace) ofthe randomly designated power suit, which is also a predeterminedenhanced suit. As another example, the amount of the ante and playwagers may be returned to the player when the best poker hand formablefrom the cards available to the player is not a predetermined winninghand, and the best poker hand is devoid of cards of the randomlydesignated power suit, which is also a predetermined enhanced suit.

Returning the ante and play wagers to the player may involve, forexample, physically transferring each wagering element associated withthe ante and play wagers to the player, electronically authorizingtransfer of the amount of the ante and play wagers to the player bysending an electronic signal to a processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642(see FIGS. 4-6, 9) via a dealer interface 418 (see FIG. 5), orautomatically generating at a processor 350, 414, 428, 597, or 642 (seeFIGS. 4-6, 9) electronic authorization to transfer the amount of theante and play wagers to an account of the player. As a specific,nonlimiting example, the ante and play wagers may be returned to theplayer by physically transferring wagering elements from one or moredesignated areas 128 and 134 (see FIG. 2) on a playing surface 118 (seeFIG. 2) of a gaming table 200, 400, or 500 (see FIGS. 3, 5, 6) to theplayer.

The power suit wager may be resolved by comparing a number of cards ofthe power suit of the player to a predesignated winning number. Forexample, the power suit wager may be resolved by determining whether anumber of cards of the power suit of the player is greater than or equalto three, four, or five. When the number of cards of the power suit ofthe player is of the predesignated winning number or higher, a payout onthe power suit wager may be paid to the player. In some embodiments, thecards evaluated for resolving the power suit wager may be limited to thecards dealt specifically to the player, including any initial cardsdealt face-down or otherwise unavailable in an early stage of game play(e.g., before random designation of a power suit, before dealing anyadditional cards, before acceptance of a power wager, or beforeresolution of any wagers) excluding any community cards. In otherembodiments, the cards evaluated for resolving the power suit wager mayinclude all cards available to the player, including any cards madeavailable in a later stage of play and any community cards.

Paying the payout on the power suit side wager may be a fixed oddspayout regardless of the total number of cards of the power suit of theplayer, or an amount of the payout on the power suit wager may increaseas the total number of cards of the power suit of the player above thethreshold winning number increases. Specific, nonlimiting examples ofpay tables for the power suit wager for a game that delivers an initialhand of five cards are shown below:

Number of Cards Available to the Player of the Power Suit Payout 1Payout 2 Payout 3 8 100:1  100:1  100:1  7 50:1  30:1  30:1  6 20:1 12:1  15:1  5 8:1 6:1 6:1 4 4:1 5:1 4:1 3 3:1 3:1 3:1Payment of the payout on the power suit wager may be accomplished byperforming any of the action described previously in connection withpaying the payout on the ante and play wagers. When the number of cardsof the power suit of the player is less than the predesignated winningnumber, and amount of the power suit wager may be collected for thehouse. Collecting the power suit wager may be accomplished by performingany of the actions described previously in connection with collectingthe ante and play wagers.

The power suit side bet bonus wager may be resolved by comparing apredicted characteristic of the power suit to an actual characteristicof the power suit. For example, a predicted color or predicted, specificsuit may be compared to an actual color or an actual, specific suit ofthe power suit. When the predicted characteristic of the power suitmatches the actual characteristic of the power suit, a bonus payout onthe power suit side bet bonus wager may be paid to the player in someembodiments. In other embodiments, the payout on the ante and playwagers may be increased when the predicted characteristic of the powersuit matches the actual characteristic of the power suit. In otherexamples in which the power suit matches the actual characteristics, thepayout on the ante and play wagers may be increased by multiplying abase payout by a multiplier (e.g., 1.25, 1.5, 2), or the payout on theante and play wagers may be increased by paying a payout amountcorresponding to a hand ranked one level higher than the rank of thebest poker hand formable from the cards available to the player (e.g.,by paying the amount displayed one line higher on the pay table). Insome embodiments, the amount of the bonus wager may be returned to theplayer when the predicted characteristic of the power suit matches theactual characteristic of the power suit, but the highest poker handformable from the cards available to the player is not a predeterminedwinning hand. When the predicted characteristic of the power suit doesnot match the actual characteristic of the power suit, the amount of thebonus wager may be returned to the player. Paying the payout on thebonus wager, returning the amount of the bonus wager, and collecting thebonus wager may be accomplished by performing any of the actionsdescribed previously in connection with paying the payout on the anteand play wagers, returning the amount of the ante and play wagers, andcollecting the ante and play wagers, respectively.

In some embodiments when an election to fold the hand is received by thedealer, the player may automatically forfeit both the ante and bonuswagers. In other embodiments, accepting a player election to fold mayonly result in the house collecting the ante, and the power suit sidewager may remain in action.

Various platforms are contemplated that are suitable for implementationof embodiments of wagering games according to this disclosure. Forexample, embodiments of wagering games may be implemented as live tablegames with an in-person dealer, electronic gaming machines, partially orfully automated table games, and partially or fully automated,network-administered games (e.g., Internet games) wherein game resultsmay be produced utilizing a processor or a live video feed of a dealeradministering a game from a remote studio.

As previously noted, any of the present methods and games may be playedas a live casino table card game, as a hybrid casino table card game(with virtual cards or virtual chips), on a multi-player electronicplatform (as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/764,827,filed Jan. 26, 2004, published as U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2005/0164759 on Jul. 28, 2005, now abandoned; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/764,994, filed Jan. 26, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,661,676, issued Feb. 16, 2010; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/764,995, filed Jan. 26, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,958, issuedSep. 25, 2012; the disclosure of each of which applications and patentsis incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference), on a personalcomputer for practice, on a hand-held game for practice, on a legallyauthorized site on the Internet, or on a play-for-fun site on theInternet.

For example, in one embodiment, the players may be remotely located froma live dealer, and a live dealer and a game table may be displayed toplayers on their monitors via a video feed. The players' video feeds maybe transmitted to the dealer and may also be shared among the players atthe table. In a sample embodiment, a central station may include aplurality of betting-type game devices and an electronic camera for eachgame device. A plurality of player stations, remotely located withrespect to the central station, may each include a monitor, fordisplaying a selected game device at the central station, and inputmeans, for selecting a game device and for placing a bet by a player atthe player's station relating to an action involving an element ofchance to occur at the selected game device. Further details on gamblingsystems and methods for remotely located players are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,755,741 B1, issued Jun. 29, 2004, titled “GAMBLING GAMESYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REMOTELY-LOCATED PLAYERS,” the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a playing surface 118 for implementing wageringgames within the scope of this disclosure. Such an implementation maybe, for example, a felt layout on a physical gaming table 200 or 400(see FIGS. 3, 5) or an electronic representation on a video display 374,416, 430, 532, 564, 560, 658, or 688 (see FIGS. 4-6, 8, 9) for eachparticipating player position 120. The playing surface 118 may includeplayer positions 120 with which individual players may interact, adealer position 122 with which the dealer may interact, and an optionalcommunity position 124 with which the dealer may interact and withineach of which the activity (e.g., wagering and card dealing) may takeplace. The dealer position 122 may be, for example, an area 122 fromwhich cards may be dealt, from which payouts may be paid, and to whichlosing wagers may be collected. The community position 124 may be, forexample, and area 124 to which community card, if any, may be dealt.

Each player position 120 may include an area 126 within which cards maybe dealt to the player. Each player position 120 may further include afirst designated area 128 designated for accepting the ante wager, andin some embodiments for accepting the play wager. In some embodiments,each player position 120 may include at least one second designated area130 configured for accepting a bonus wager. In some embodiments,multiple second designated areas 130 may be positioned in each playerposition 120, each second designated area 130 indicating a differentplayer prediction for a characteristic (e.g., red, black, spades,diamonds, clubs, hearts) of a subsequently designated power suit, or maybe used for a separate bonus wager, as described above. In someembodiments, each player position 120 may include a third designatedarea 132 configured for accepting the power suit wager. In someembodiments, each player position 122 may include a fourth designatedarea 134 configured for accepting the play wager. Each of the first,second, third, and fourth designated areas 128 through 134 may beseparate and distinct from one another. In some embodiments, each playerposition 120 may include pay tables 136 displaying payouts associatedwith one or more of the wagers, or a single pay table 136 may bedisplayed on the surface 118. In other examples, game pay tables may bedisplayed on a placard or on an electronic display 210 (see FIG. 3)associated with the table.

The results of actions performed when administering wagering games inaccordance with this disclosure may be reflected on the playing surface118. For example, and with continued reference to FIG. 2, an ante wageron a poker-style game played against a pay table may be accepted from aplayer, which may be reflected by the presence of one or more physicalwagering elements or the display of one or more computer-simulatedwagering elements in the first designated area 128. In some embodiments,an ante wager, a power suit wager, a bonus wager, or all three may beaccepted from the player, which may be reflected by the presence of oneor more physical wagering element or the display of one or morecomputer-simulated wagering elements in one of the second designatedareas 130 and the third designated area 132.

Initial cards may be dealt to each participating player from arandomized, 52-card deck of standard playing cards, with at least onecard being dealt face up and at least one card being dealt face down,which may be reflected by the presence of cards or the display ofcomputer-simulated cards in the area 126 of each participating playerposition 120. In other embodiments, all initially dealt cards may bedealt face up. Players may be permitted to inspect their face-up cards.A power suit may be randomly designated for the current round of play,which may be reflected by the display of an image of the randomlyselected suit on a display device or by the presence of a physicalobject 138 (e.g., a ball, a die, a wheel) depicting the randomlygenerated power suit supported the surface 118.

One system that may be used to display a power suit for a round of playmay comprise a hard-forming shuffler including card-reading capability.For example, the shuffler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,766,332, assignedto Bally Gaming, Inc., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein inits entirety by this reference. The processor associated with theshuffler may randomly select a power suit and, in some embodiments,whether or not the suit is also an enhanced suit utilizing a randomnumber generator. A display 210 (see FIG. 3) associated with the gamingtable may be in communication with the processor and cause the powersuit and any enhancements to be displayed thereon.

In another embodiment, a processor-controlled game display, such as thedisplay disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,101,821, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, may be mountedinto the gaming table, such as, for example, in are 138. The display maycommunicate with the processor of the shuffler to display a randomlyselected power suit, and any enhancements, as soon as a new round ofplay begins. A round activation button at the dealer station mayalternatively be used to initiate random suit selection.

A play wager or an election to fold may be accepted from each playerafter each player has viewed the face-up cards dealt to the respectiveplayer and after the random designation of the power suit, which may bereflected by the presence of at least one additional physical wageringelement or the display of at least one additional computer-simulatedwagering element in a player's respective player position 120 (e.g., inthe first designated area 128 or the fourth designated area 134) or bythe physical removal of each wagering element from or cessation ofdisplaying each wagering element within a player's respective playerposition 120 (e.g., from the first designated area 128 and the secondand third designated areas 130 and 132, when applicable).

The remaining face-down cards may be revealed, which may be reflected byturning over cards or displaying rank and suit information correlatingto previously unrevealed cards in the area 126 of each participatingplayer position 120. At least one additional card may be dealt for eachrelevant initial card of the power suit, which may be reflected by thepresence of one or more additional cards or the display of one or moreadditional, computer-simulated cards in the area 126 of eachparticipating player position 120 or in the community area 124.

The ante wager and the play wager may be resolved by comparing the bestpoker hand formable from the available cards to the pay table 136. Aneven money payout on the ante wager and an odd payout on the play wagermay be paid to the player when the best poker hand formable from theavailable cards is a predetermined winning hand, which may be reflectedby the presence of one or more additional, physical wagering elements inthe player position 120 or the electronic transfer of funds to a playeraccount. In addition, a payout on any power suit side wager may be paidto the player when the relevant, available cards to the player include anumber of cards of the randomly designated power suit greater than orequal to a predetermined winning number, which may be reflected by thepresence of one or more physical wagering elements in the playerposition 120 or the electronic transfer of funds to a player account. Insome embodiments, a payout on any bonus wager may be paid to the playerwhen a predicted characteristic matches an actual characteristic of thepower suit, which may be reflected by the presence of one or morephysical wagering elements in the player position 120 or the electronictransfer of funds to a player account.

The ante and play wagers may be collected for the house when the bestpoker hand formable from the available cards is not a predeterminedwinning hand, which may be reflected by the physical removal of wageringelements from or cessation of displaying wagering elements within thefirst and fourth designated areas 128 and 134 of a player's respectiveplayer position 120. Any power suit wager may be collected for the housewhen the relevant, available cards to the player include a number ofcards of the randomly designated power suit less than a predeterminedwinning number, which may be reflected by the removal of each wageringelement from or cessation of displaying each wagering element within thethird designated area 132 of a player's respective player position 120.In some embodiments, the bonus wager may be collected for the house whena predicted characteristic does not match an actual characteristic ofthe power suit, which may be reflected by the removal of each wageringelement from or cessation of displaying wagering elements within thesecond designated area 130 of a player's respective player position 120.

In some embodiments, the wagering games described herein may be playedagainst a game administrator (i.e., against “the house” such that thegame is “house-banked”). Such implementations may involve the gameadministrator (e.g., a casino or other gaming establishment) accepting(e.g., via a dealer or other agent of the administrator) wagers ofreal-world monetary value, distributing payouts of real-world monetaryvalue on winning wagers to players, and collecting real-world monetaryvalue of lost wagers. Such “house-banked” embodiments may beimplemented, for example, in the form of a live table game, in a virtualtable game, in an electronic game, or in a networked (e.g., Internet)game configuration.

In other embodiments, the wagering games, or at least one wagerassociated with the wagering games, may involve a player in a casino orother gaming establishment acting as banker, accepting wagers havingreal-world monetary value, issuing payouts having real-world monetaryvalue, and collecting real-world monetary value of lost wagers (i.e., be“player-banked”). In some embodiments where at least one wager isplayer-banked, the game administrator may collect a player entrance fee,or a rake on each player-banked wager accepted from the participatingplayers, including the banker.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a gaming table 200 forimplementing wagering games in accordance with this disclosure. Thegaming table 200 may be a physical article of furniture around whichparticipants in the wagering game may stand or sit and on which thephysical objects used for administering and otherwise participating inthe wagering game may be supported, positioned, moved, transferred, andotherwise manipulated. For example, the gaming table 200 may include agaming surface 202 on which the physical objects used in administeringthe wagering game may be located. The gaming surface 202 may be, forexample, a felt fabric covering a hard surface of the table, and adesign, conventionally referred to as a “layout,” specific to the gamebeing administered may be physically printed on the gaming surface 202.As another example, the gaming surface 202 may be a surface of atransparent or translucent material (e.g., glass or plexiglass) ontowhich a projector 203, which may be located, for example, above or belowthe gaming surface 202, may illuminate a layout specific to the wageringgame being administered. In such an example, the specific layoutprojected onto the gaming surface 202 may be changeable, enabling thegaming table 200 to be used to administer different variations ofwagering games within the scope of this disclosure or other wageringgames. Additional details of illustrative gaming surfaces and projectorsare disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/919,849, filed Jun.17, 2013, and titled “ELECTRONIC GAMING DISPLAYS, GAMING TABLESINCLUDING ELECTRONIC GAMING DISPLAYS AND RELATED ASSEMBLIES, SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entiretyby this reference. In either example, the gaming surface 202 mayinclude, for example, designated areas for player positions; areas inwhich one or more of player cards, dealer cards, or community cards maybe dealt; areas in which wagers may be accepted; areas in which wagersmay be grouped into pots; and areas in which rules, pay tables, andother instructions related to the wagering game may be displayed. As aspecific, nonlimiting example, the gaming surface 202 may be configuredas shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In some embodiments, the gaming table 200 may include a display 210separate from the gaming surface 202. The display 210 may be configuredto face players, prospective players, and spectators and may display,for example, rules, pay tables, real-time game status, such as wagersaccepted and cards dealt, historical game information, such as amountswon, amounts wagered, percentage of hands won, and notable handsachieved, and other instructions and information related to the wageringgame. The display 210 may be a physically fixed display, such as aposter, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the display 210 maychange automatically in response to a stimulus (e.g., may be anelectronic video monitor).

The gaming table 200 may include particular machines and apparatusesconfigured to facilitate the administration of the wagering game. Forexample, the gaming table 200 may include one or more card-handlingdevices 204. The card-handling device 204A may be, for example, a shoefrom which physical cards 206 from one or more decks of playing cardsmay be withdrawn, one at a time. Such a card-handling device 204A mayinclude, for example, a housing in which cards 206 are located, anopening from which cards 206 are removed, and a card-presentingmechanism (e.g., a moving weight on a ramp configured to push a stack ofcards down the ramp) configured to continually present new cards 206 forwithdrawal from the shoe. Additional details of an illustrativecard-handling device 204A configured as a shoe are found in U.S. PatentApp. Pub. No. 2010/0038849, published Feb. 18, 2010, and titled“INTELLIGENT AUTOMATIC SHOE AND CARTRIDGE,” the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

The card-handling device 204B may be, for example, a shuffler configuredto reorder physical cards 206 from one or more decks of playing cardsand present randomized cards 206 for use in the wagering game. Such acard-handling device 204B may include, for example, a housing, ashuffling mechanism configured to shuffle cards, and card inputs andoutputs (e.g., trays). Additional details of an illustrativecard-handling device 204B configured as a shuffler are found in U.S.Pat. No. 8,070,574, issued Dec. 6, 2011, to Grauzer et al., thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by thisreference. Shufflers such as the devices disclosed in the '574 patentmay include card recognition capability and may form randomly orderedhands of a known composition within the shuffler. Additionally, gamerules may also be programmed within the shuffler such that the processorof the shuffler is capable of identifying a winning hand prior toautomatic delivery into an output tray. The card-handling device 204 mayalso be, for example, a combination shuffler and shoe in which theoutput for the shuffler is a shoe.

In some embodiments, the card-handling device 204 may be configured andprogrammed to administer at least a portion of a wagering game beingplayed utilizing the card-handling device 204. For example, thecard-handling device 204 may be programmed and configured to randomize aset of cards and present one or more cards for use according to gamerules. More specifically, the card-handling device 204 may be programmedand configured to, for example, randomize a set of cards including oneor more 52-card decks of standard playing cards and, optionally, anyspecialty cards (e.g., a cut card, bonus cards, wild cards, or otherspecialty cards). In some embodiments, the card-handling device 204 maypresent individual cards, one at a time, for withdrawal from thecard-handling device 204. In other embodiments, the card-handling device204 may present packets of cards representing a subset of the completeset of cards handled by the card-handling device 204 (e.g., individualhands, one hand at a time, a group of hands, a partial hand or hands andthen additional cards as needed to complete the hand or hands, a hand orhands and any burn or specialty cards to be used in the same round asthe hand or hands) for withdrawal from the card-handling device 204. Insome such embodiments, the card-handling device 204 may accept dealerinput, such as, for example, a number of replacement cards for discardedcards, a number of hit cards to add, or a number of partial hands to becompleted. In other such embodiments, the device may accept a dealerinput from a menu of game options indicating a game selection, whichwill select programming to deliver the requisite number of cards to thegame, depending on the game rules. The game rules may be programmed intothe memory of the shuffler processing system. In still otherembodiments, the card-handling device 204 may present the complete setof randomized cards for withdrawal from the card-handling device 204. Asspecific, nonlimiting examples, the card-handling device 204 may presenta packet of cards representing a single hand or a packet of cardsrepresenting a group of hands, each hand including five cards, asdescribed previously in connection with FIG. 1.

Packets of cards used as player hands, partial player hands, dealerhands, partial dealer hands, community cards, or other card groups maybe formed internally within the shuffler, such as within an internalcompartment, as described in the '574 patent, or may be formed in anoutput tray of the shuffler. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,756,issued Mar. 2, 2004, to Baker et al. describes such a device. Othersuitable shufflers include U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,248, issued Jul. 31,2001, to Johnson et al, which describes a shuffler that can form arandom set of cards, such as a deck or multiple decks, U.S. Pat. No.7,766,332, issued Aug. 3, 2010, to Grauzer et al., which describesforming groups of player and/or dealer cards in compartments within ashuffler; U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2014/0027979, published Jan. 30,2014, to Stasson et al., which shows an alternate method of randomlyforming a set of cards in a shuffler such as one or more decks of cards;and U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,750, issued Jul. 8, 2003, to Grauzer et al.,which shows a device for randomizing a set of cards using a gripping,lifting and insertion sequence. The disclosure of each of the foregoingdocuments is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

In some embodiments, the card-handling device 204 may employ a randomnumber generator device to determine card order, such as, for example, afinal card order or an order of insertion of cards into a compartmentconfigured to form a packet of cards. The compartments may besequentially numbered, and a random number assigned to each compartmentnumber prior to delivery of the first card. In other embodiments, therandom number generator may select a location in the stack of cards toseparate the stack into two sub-stacks, creating an insertion pointwithin the stack at a random location. The next card may be insertedinto the insertion point. In yet other embodiments, the random numbergenerator may randomly select a location in a stack to randomly removecards by activating an ejector.

Other functions of the random number generator may be game-specific. Forexample, a random number generator internal or external to the shufflermay be used to randomly select a player to receive a first packet ofcards, including a hand or a portion of a hand, according to the gamerules. In other examples, the random number generator may select a gameposition to receive an extra card, one less card, or a random number ofcards, depending upon the specific rules of the game.

Regardless of whether the random number generator is hardware orsoftware, it may be used to implement specific game administrationsmethods of the present disclosure.

The card-handling device 204 may simply be supported on the gamingsurface 202 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the card-handlingdevice 204 may be mounted into the gaming table 202 such that thecard-handling device 204 is not manually removable from the gaming table202 without the use of tools. In some embodiments, the deck or decks ofplaying cards used may be standard, 52-card decks. In other embodiments,the deck or decks used may include cards, such as, for example, jokers,wild cards, bonus cards, etc. The shuffler may also be configured tohandle and dispense security cards, such as cut cards.

In some embodiments, the card-handling device 204 may include anelectronic display 207 for displaying information related to thewagering game being administered. For example, the electronic display207 may display a menu of game options, the name of the game selected,the number of cards per hand to be dispensed, acceptable amounts forwagers (e.g., maximums and minimums), numbers of cards to be dealt torecipients, locations of particular recipients for particular cards,winning and losing wagers, pay tables, winning hands, losing hands, andpayout amounts. In other embodiments, information related to thewagering game may be displayed on another electronic display, such as,for example, the display 210 described previously.

The type of card-handling device 204 employed to administer embodimentsof the disclosed wagering game, as well as the type of card deckemployed and the number of decks, may be specific the game to beimplemented. Cards used in games of this disclosure may be, for example,standard playing cards from one or more decks, each deck having cards offour suits (clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades) and of rankings ace,king, queen, jack, and ten through two in descending order. As a morespecific example, six, seven, or eight standard decks of such cards maybe intermixed. Typically, six or eight decks of 52 standard playingcards each may be intermixed and formed into a set. A suitable deviceemploying random number generation for card management and randomizationis marketed under the name MD3® by Bally Gaming, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev.Aspects of this device are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,579,289, issuedNov. 12, 2013, to Rynda et al., and the shuffling mechanism is fullydescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,677,565, issued Mar. 16, 2010, to Grauzeret al., the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by this reference. After shuffling, the randomized set may betransferred into another portion of the card-handling device 204B oranother card-handling device 204A altogether, such as a mechanized shoecapable of reading card rank and suit. More specifically, the shoedisclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,511,684, issued Aug. 20,2013, to Grauzer et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinin its entirety by this reference, may be used to automatically dispenseone or more cards at a time from the randomized set.

As a specific, nonlimiting example, a card shuffler may be used toautomatically deliver randomized cards, one at a time or in packets(e.g., packets of five), which may be distributed to players to play apoker-style game. At least one deck of at least 52 standard playingcards may be randomized by the card shuffler. More specifically, the setof cards randomized by the shuffler may include, for example, one deckof 52 standard playing cards (i.e., two through 10, jack, queen, king,and ace in each of spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts), multiple decksof 52 standard playing cards (e.g., 2, 4, 6, or 8 decks), or one or moredecks of 52 standard playing cards and additional cards (e.g., wildcards, bonus cards, jokers, cut cards).

The gaming table 200 may include one or more chip racks 208 configuredto facilitate accepting wagers, transferring lost wagers to the house,and exchanging monetary value for wagering elements 212 (e.g., chips).For example, the chip rack 208 may include a series of token supportrows, each of which may support tokens of a different type (e.g., colorand denomination). In some embodiments, the chip rack 208 may beconfigured to automatically present a selected number of chips using achip-cutting-and-delivery mechanism. Additional details of anillustrative chip rack 208 and chip-cutting-and-delivery mechanism arefound in U.S. Pat. No. 7,934,980, issued May 3, 2011, to Blaha et al.,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by thisreference. In some embodiments, the gaming table 200 may include a dropbox 214 for money that is accepted in exchange for wagering elements212. The drop box 214 may be, for example, a secure container (e.g., asafe or lockbox) having a one-way opening into which money may beinserted and a secure, lockable opening from which money may beretrieved. Such drop boxes 214 are known in the art, and may beincorporated directly into the gaming table 200 and may, in someembodiments, have a removable container for the retrieval of money in aseparate, secure location.

When administering a wagering game in accordance with embodiments ofthis disclosure, a dealer 216 may receive money (e.g., cash) from aplayer in exchange for wagering elements 212. The dealer 216 may depositthe money in the drop box 214 and transfer physical wagering elements212 to the player. The dealer 216 may accept one or more initial wagers(e.g., antes and other wagers) from the player, which may be reflectedby the dealer 216 permitting the player to place one or more wageringelements 212 or other wagering tokens (e.g., cash) within designatedareas on the gaming surface 202 associated with the various wagers ofthe wagering game. Once initial wagers have been accepted, the dealer216 may remove physical cards 206 from the card-handling device 204(e.g., individual cards, packets of cards, or the complete set of cards)in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the physical cards 206 may behand-pitched (i.e., the dealer 216 may optionally shuffle the cards 206to randomize the set and may hand-deal cards 206 from the randomized setof cards). The dealer 216 may position cards 206 within designated areason the gaming surface 202, which may designate the cards 206 for use asindividual player cards, community cards, or dealer cards in accordancewith game rules. House rules also may allow the player to place wagersduring card distribution, or after card distribution, but beforerevealing the cards.

After dealing the cards 206, and during play, according to the gamerules, any additional wagers (e.g., play bets) may be accepted, whichmay be reflected by the dealer 216 permitting the player to place one ormore wagering elements 212 within designated areas on the gaming surface202 associated with the various wagers of the wagering game. In someembodiments, a player may fold, which may result in the dealer 216collecting at least one of the wagering elements 212 from that playerand transferring it to the house, which may be reflected by the wageringelement 212 being returned to the chip rack 208. The dealer 216 mayperform any additional card dealing and rounds of betting permitted inthe wagering game. Finally, the dealer 216 may resolve the wagers, awardwinning wagers to the players, which may be accomplished by givingwagering elements 212 from the chip rack 208 to the players, andtransferring losing wagers to the house, which may be accomplished bymoving wagering elements 212 from the players to the chip rack 208.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an individual electronic gaming device300 (e.g., an electronic gaming machine (EGM)) configured forimplementing wagering games according to this disclosure. The individualelectronic gaming device 300 may include an individual player position314 including a player input area 332 configured to enable a player tointeract with the individual electronic gaming device 300 throughvarious input devices (e.g., buttons, levers, touchscreens). Theindividual electronic gaming device 300 may include a gaming screen 374configured to display indicia for interacting with the individualelectronic gaming device 300, such as through processing one or moreprograms stored in memory 340 to implement the rules of game play at theindividual electronic gaming device 300. Accordingly, game play may beaccommodated without involving physical playing cards, chips or otherwagering elements, and live personnel. The action may instead besimulated by a control processor 350 operably coupled to the memory 340and interacting with and controlling the individual electronic gamingdevice 300.

Although the individual electronic gaming device 300 displayed in FIG. 4has an outline of a traditional gaming cabinet, the individualelectronic gaming device 300 may be implemented in other ways, such as,for example, client software downloaded to a portable device, such as asmart phone, tablet, or laptop computer. The individual electronicgaming device 300 may also be a non-portable personal computer (e.g., adesktop or all-in-one computer) or other computing device. In someembodiments, client software is not downloaded but is native to thedevice or is otherwise delivered with the device when distributed.

A communication device 360 may be included and operably coupled to theprocessor 350 such that information related to operation of theindividual electronic gaming device 300, information related to the gameplay, or combinations thereof may be communicated between the individualelectronic gaming device 300 and other devices, such as a server,through a suitable communication medium, such, as, for example, wirednetworks, Wi-Fi networks, and cellular communication networks.

The gaming screen 374 may be carried by a generally vertically extendingcabinet 376 of the individual electronic gaming device 300. Theindividual electronic gaming device 300 may further include banners tocommunicate rules of game play and the like, such as along a top portion378 of the cabinet 376 of the individual electronic gaming device 300.The individual electronic gaming device 300 may further includeadditional decorative lights (not shown), and speakers (not shown) fortransmitting and optionally receiving sounds during game play. Furtherdetail of an example of an individual electronic gaming device 300 (aswell as other embodiments of tables and devices) is disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/963,165, filed Aug. 9, 2013, and titled“METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC GAMING,” the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

Some embodiments may be implemented at locations including a pluralityof player stations. Such player stations may include an electronicdisplay screen for display of game information (e.g., cards, wagers, andgame instructions) and for accepting wagers and facilitating creditbalance adjustments. Such player stations may, optionally, be integratedin a table format, may be distributed throughout a casino or othergaming site, or may include both grouped and distributed playerstations.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a suitable table 400 configured for implementingwagering games according to this disclosure. The table 400 may include aplaying surface 404. The table 400 may include player stations 412. Eachplayer station 412 may include a player interface 416, which may be usedfor displaying game information (e.g., game instructions, input options,wager information, game outcomes, etc.) and accepting player elections.The player interface 416 may be a display screen in the form of a touchscreen, which may be at least substantially flush with the playingsurface 404 in some embodiments. Each player interface 416 may beoperated by its own local game processor 414 (shown in dashed lines),although, in some embodiments, a central game processor 428 (shown indashed lines) may be employed and may communicate directly with playerinterfaces 416. In some embodiments, a combination of individual localgame processors 414 and the central game processor 428 may be employed.Each of the processors 414 and 428 may be operably coupled to memoryincluding one or more programs related to the rules of game play at thetable 400.

A communication device 460 may be included and may be operably coupledto one or more of the local game processors 414, the central gameprocessor 428, or combinations thereof, such that information related tooperation of the table 400, information related to the game play, orcombinations thereof may be communicated between the table 400 and otherdevices through a suitable communication medium, such as, for example,wired networks, Wi-Fi networks, and cellular communication networks.

The table 400 may further include additional features, such as a dealerchip tray 420, which may be used by the dealer to cash players in andout of the wagering game, whereas wagers and balance adjustments duringgame play may be performed using, for example, virtual chips (e.g.,images or text representing wagers). For embodiments using physicalcards 406 a and 406 b, the table 400 may further include a card-handlingdevice 422, which may be configured to shuffle, read, and deliverphysical cards for the dealer and players to use during game play or,alternatively, a card shoe configured to read and deliver cards thathave already been randomized. For embodiments using virtual cards, thevirtual cards may be displayed at the individual player interfaces 416.Common virtual cards may be displayed in a common card area.

The table 400 may further include a dealer interface 418, which, likethe player interfaces 416, may include touch screen controls forreceiving dealer inputs and assisting the dealer in administering thewagering game. The table 400 may further include an upright display 430configured to display images that depict game information such as paytables, hand counts, historical win/loss information by player, and awide variety of other information considered useful to the players. Theupright display 430 may be double sided to provide such information toplayers as well as to casino personnel.

Further detail of an example of a table and player displays is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,475, issued Sep. 11, 2012, and titled “CHIPLESSTABLE SPLIT SCREEN FEATURE,” the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein in its entirety by this reference. Although an embodiment isdescribed showing individual discrete player stations, in someembodiments, the entire playing surface 404 may be an electronic displaythat is logically partitioned to permit game play from a plurality ofplayers for receiving inputs from, and displaying game information to,the players, the dealer, or both.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a suitable table500 configured for implementing wagering games according to the presentdisclosure utilizing a virtual dealer. The table 500 may include playerpositions 514 arranged in a bank about an arcuate edge 520 of a videodevice 558 that may comprise a card screen 564 and a dealer screen 560.The dealer screen 560 may display a video simulation of the dealer(i.e., a virtual dealer) for interacting with the video device 558, suchas through processing one or more stored programs stored in memory 595to implement the rules of game play at the video device 558. The dealerscreen 560 may be carried by a generally vertically extending cabinet562 of the video device 558. The card screen 564 may be configured todisplay at least one or more of the dealer's cards, any community cards,and player's cards by the virtual dealer on the dealer screen 560.

Each of the player positions 514 may include a player interface area 532configured for wagering and game play interactions with the video device558 and virtual dealer. Accordingly, game play may be accommodatedwithout involving physical playing cards, poker chips, and livepersonnel. The action may instead be simulated by a control processor597 interacting with and controlling the video device 558. The controlprocessor 597 may be programmed, by known techniques, to implement therules of game play at the video device 558. As such, the controlprocessor 597 may interact and communicate with display/input interfacesand data entry inputs for each player interface area 532 of the videodevice 558. Other embodiments of tables and gaming devices may include acontrol processor that may be similarly adapted to the specificconfiguration of its associated device.

A communication device 599 may be included and operably coupled to thecontrol processor 597 such that information related to operation of thetable 500, information related to the game play, or combinations thereofmay be communicated between the table 500 and other devices, such as acentral server, through a suitable communication medium, such, as, forexample, wired networks, Wi-Fi networks, and cellular communicationnetworks.

The video device 558 may further include banners communicating rules ofplay and the like, which may be located along one or more walls 570 ofthe cabinet 562. The video device 558 may further include additionaldecorative lights and speakers, which may be located on an undersidesurface 566, for example, of a generally horizontally extending top 568of the cabinet 562 of the video device 558 generally extending towardthe player positions 514.

Further detail of an example of a table and player displays is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,958, issued Sep. 25, 2012, and titled “AUTOMATEDMULTIPLAYER GAME TABLE WITH UNIQUE IMAGE FEED OF DEALER,” the disclosureof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.Although an embodiment is described showing individual discrete playerstations, in some embodiments, the entire playing surface (e.g., playerinterface areas 532, card screen 564, etc.) may be a unitary electronicdisplay that is logically partitioned to permit game play from aplurality of players for receiving inputs from, and displaying gameinformation to, the players, the dealer, or both.

In some embodiments, wagering games in accordance with this disclosuremay be administered using a gaming system employing a client-serverarchitecture (e.g., over the Internet, a local area network, etc.). FIG.7 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative gaming system 600 forimplementing wagering games according to this disclosure. The gamingsystem 600 may enable end users to remotely access game content. Suchgame content may include, without limitation, various types of wageringgames such as card games, dice games, big wheel games, roulette, scratchoff games (“scratchers”), and any other wagering game where the gameoutcome is determined, in whole or in part, by one or more randomevents. This includes, but is not limited to, Class II and Class IIIgames as defined under 25 U.S.C. §2701 et seq. (“Indian GamingRegulatory Act”). Such games may include banked and/or non-banked games.

The wagering games supported by the gaming system 600 may be operatedwith real currency or with virtual credits or other virtual (e.g.,electronic) value indicia. For example, the real currency option may beused with traditional casino and lottery-type wagering games in whichmoney or other items of value are wagered and may be cashed out at theend of a game session. The virtual credits option may be used withwagering games in which credits (or other symbols) may be issued to aplayer to be used for the wagers. A player may be credited with creditsin any way allowed, including, but not limited to, a player purchasingcredits; being awarded credits as part of a contest or a win event inthis or another game (including non-wagering games); being awardedcredits as a reward for use of a product, casino, or other enterprise,time played in one session, or games played; or may be as simple asbeing awarded virtual credits upon logging in at a particular time orwith a particular frequency, etc. Although credits may be won or lost,the ability of the player to cash out credits may be controlled orprevented. In one example, credits acquired (e.g., purchased or awarded)for use in a play-for-fun game may be limited to non-monetary redemptionitems, awards, or credits usable in the future or for another game orgaming session. The same credit redemption restrictions may be appliedto some or all of credits won in a wagering game as well.

An additional variation includes web-based sites having bothplay-for-fun and wagering games, including issuance of free(non-monetary) credits usable to play the play-for-fun games. Thisfeature may attract players to the site and to the games before theyengage in wagering. In some embodiments, a limited number of free orpromotional credits may be issued to entice players to play the games.Another method of issuing credits includes issuing free credits inexchange for identifying friends who may want to play. In anotherembodiment, additional credits may be issued after a period of time haselapsed to encourage the player to resume playing the game. The gamingsystem 600 may enable players to buy additional game credits to allowthe player to resume play. Objects of value may be awarded toplay-for-fun players, which may or may not be in a direct exchange forcredits. For example, a prize may be awarded or won for a highestscoring play-for-fun player during a defined time interval. Allvariations of credit redemption are contemplated, as desired by gamedesigners and game hosts (the person or entity controlling the hostingsystems).

The gaming system 600 may include a gaming platform to establish aportal for an end user to access a wagering game hosted by one or moregaming servers 610 over a network 630. In some embodiments, games areaccessed through a user interaction service 612. The gaming system 600enables players to interact with a user device 620 through a user inputdevice 624 and a display 622 and to communicate with one or more gamingservers 610 using a network 630 (e.g., the Internet). Typically, theuser device is remote from the gaming server 610 and the network is theword-wide web (i.e., the Internet).

In some embodiments, the gaming servers 610 may be configured as asingle server to administer wagering games in combination with the userdevice 620. In other embodiments, the gaming servers 610 may beconfigured as separate servers for performing separate, dedicatedfunctions associated with administering wagering games. Accordingly, thefollowing description also discusses “services” with the understandingthat the various services may be performed by different servers orcombinations of servers in different embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7,the gaming servers 610 may include a user interaction service 612, agame service 616, and an asset service 614. In some embodiments, one ormore of the gaming servers 610 may communicate with an account server632 performing an account service 632. As explained more fully below,for some wagering type games, the account service 632 may be separateand operated by a different entity than the gaming servers 610; however,in some embodiments the account service 632 may also be operated by oneor more of the gaming servers 610.

The user device 620 may communicate with the user interaction service612 through the network 630. The user interaction service 612 maycommunicate with the game service 616 and provide game information tothe user device 620. In some embodiments, the game service 616 may alsoinclude a game engine. The game engine may, for example, access,interpret, and apply game rules. In some embodiments, a single userdevice 620 communicates with a game provided by the game service 616,while other embodiments may include a plurality of user devices 620configured to communicate and provide end users with access to the samegame provided by the game service 616. In addition, a plurality of endusers may be permitted to access a single user interaction service 612,or a plurality of user interaction services 612, to access the gameservice 616. The user interaction service 612 may enable a user tocreate and access a user account and interact with game service 616. Theuser interaction service 612 may enable users to initiate new games,join existing games, and interface with games being played by the user.

The user interaction service 612 may also provide a client for executionon the user device 620 for accessing the gaming servers 610. The clientprovided by the gaming servers 610 for execution on the user device 620may be any of a variety of implementations depending on the user device620 and method of communication with the gaming servers 610. In oneembodiment, the user device 620 may connect to the gaming servers 610using a web browser, and the client may execute within a browser windowor frame of the web browser. In another embodiment, the client may be astand-alone executable on the user device 620.

For example, the client may comprise a relatively small amount of script(e.g., JAVASCRIPT®), also referred to as a “script driver,” includingscripting language that controls an interface of the client. The scriptdriver may include simple function calls requesting information from thegaming servers 610. In other words, the script driver stored in theclient may merely include calls to functions that are externally definedby, and executed by, the gaming servers 610. As a result, the client maybe characterized as a “thin client.” The client may simply send requeststo the gaming servers 610 rather than performing logic itself. Theclient may receive player inputs, and the player inputs may be passed tothe gaming servers 610 for processing and executing the wagering game.In some embodiments, this may involve providing specific graphicaldisplay information for the display 622 as well as game outcomes.

As another example, the client may comprise an executable file ratherthan a script. The client may do more local processing than does ascript driver, such as calculating where to show what game symbols uponreceiving a game outcome from the game service 616 through userinteraction service 612. In some embodiments, portions of an assetservice 614 may be loaded onto the client and may be used by the clientin processing and updating graphical displays. Some form of dataprotection, such as end-to-end encryption, may be used when data istransported over the network 630. The network 630 may be any network,such as, for example, the Internet or a local area network.

The gaming servers 610 may include an asset service 614, which may hostvarious media assets (e.g., text, audio, video, and image files) to sendto the user device 620 for presenting the various wagering games to theend user. In other words, the assets presented to the end user may bestored separately from the user device 620. For example, the user device620 requests the assets appropriate for the game played by the user; asanother example, especially relating to thin clients, just those assetsthat are needed for a particular display event will be sent by thegaming servers 610, including as few as one asset. The user device 620may call a function defined at the user interaction service 612 or assetservice 614, which may determine which assets are to be delivered to theuser device 620 as well as how the assets are to be presented by theuser device 620 to the end user. Different assets may correspond to thevarious user devices 620 and their clients that may have access to thegame service 616 and to different variations of wagering games.

The gaming servers 610 may include the game service 616, which may beprogrammed to administer wagering games and determine game play outcomesto provide to the user interaction service 612 for transmission to theuser device 620. For example, the game service 616 may include gamerules for one or more wagering games, such that the game service 616controls some or all of the game flow for a selected wagering game aswell as the determined game outcomes. The game service 616 may includepay tables and other game logic. The game service 616 may perform randomnumber generation for determining random game elements of the wageringgame. In one embodiment, the game service 616 may be separated from theuser interaction service 612 by a firewall or other method of preventingunauthorized access to the game service 612 by the general members ofthe network 630.

The user device 620 may present a gaming interface to the player andcommunicate the user interaction from the user input device 624 to thegaming servers 610. The user device 620 may be any electronic systemcapable of displaying gaming information, receiving user input, andcommunicating the user input to the gaming servers 610. For example, theuser device 620 may be a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet computer,a set-top box, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone), a kiosk, aterminal, or another computing device. As a specific, nonlimitingexample, the user device 620 operating the client may be an interactiveelectronic gaming system 300 (see FIG. 4), as described above. Theclient may be a specialized application or may be executed within ageneralized application capable of interpreting instructions from aninteractive gaming system, such as a web browser.

The client may interface with an end user through a web page or anapplication that runs on a device including, but not limited to, asmartphone, a tablet, or a general computer, or the client may be anyother computer program configurable to access the gaming servers 610.The client may be illustrated within a casino webpage (or otherinterface) indicating that the client is embedded into a webpage, whichis supported by a web browser executing on the user device 620.

In some embodiments, components of the gaming system 600 may be operatedby different entities. For example, the user device 620 may be operatedby a third party, such as a casino or an individual, that links to thegaming servers 610, which may be operated, for example, by a wageringgame service provider. Therefore, in some embodiments, the user device620 and client may be operated by a different administrator than theoperator of the game service 616. In other words, the user device 620may be part of a third-party system that does not administer orotherwise control the gaming servers 610 or game service 616. In otherembodiments, the user interaction service 612 and asset service 614 maybe operated by a third-party system. For example, a gaming entity (e.g.,a casino) may operate the user interaction service 612, user device 620,or combination thereof to provide its customers access to game contentmanaged by a different entity that may control the game service 616,amongst other functionality. In still other embodiments, all functionsmay be operated by the same administrator. For example, a gaming entity(e.g., a casino) may elect to perform each of these functions in-house,such as providing access to the user device 620, delivering the actualgame content, and administering the gaming system 600.

The gaming servers 610 may communicate with one or more external accountservers 632 (also referred to herein as an account service 632),optionally through another firewall. For example, the gaming servers 610may not directly accept wagers or issue payouts. That is, the gamingservers 610 may facilitate online casino gaming but may not be part of aself-contained online casino itself. Another entity (e.g., a casino orany account holder or financial system of record) may operate andmaintain its external account service 632 to accept bets and make payoutdistributions. The gaming servers 610 may communicate with the accountservice 632 to verify the existence of funds for wagering and toinstruct the account service 632 to execute debits and credits. Asanother example, the gaming servers 610 may directly accept bets andmake payout distributions, such as in the case where an administrator ofthe gaming servers 610 operates as a casino.

Additional features may be supported by the gaming servers 610, such ashacking and cheating detection, data storage and archival, metricsgeneration, messages generation, output formatting for different enduser devices, as well as other features and operations. For example, thegaming servers 610 may include additional features and configurations asdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/353,194, filed Jan. 18,2012, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/609,031, filed Sep. 10,2012, both applications titled “NETWORK GAMING ARCHITECTURE, GAMINGSYSTEMS, AND RELATED METHODS,” the disclosure of each of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a table 682 for implementingwagering games including a live dealer feed. Features of the gamingsystem 600 described above in connection with FIG. 7 may be utilized inconnection with this embodiment, except as further described. Ratherthan cards being determined by computerized random processes, physicalcards (e.g., from a standard, 52-card deck of playing cards) may bedealt by a live dealer 680 at a table 682 from a card-handling system684. A table manager 686 may assist the dealer 680 in facilitating playof the game by transmitting a video feed of the dealer's actions to theuser device 620 and transmitting player elections to the dealer 680. Asdescribed above, the table manager 686 may act as or communicate with agaming system 600 (see FIG. 7) (e.g., acting as the gaming system 600(see FIG. 7) itself or as an intermediate client interposed between andoperationally connected to the user device 620 and the gaming system 600(see FIG. 7)) to provide gaming at the table 682 to users of the gamingsystem 600 (see FIG. 7). Thus, the table manager 686 may communicatewith the user device 620 through a network 630 (see FIG. 7), and may bea part of a larger online casino, or may be operated as a separatesystem facilitating game play. In various embodiments, each table 682may be managed by an individual table manager 686 constituting a gamingdevice, which may receive and process information relating to thattable. For simplicity of description, these functions are described asbeing performed by the table manager 686, though certain functions maybe performed by an intermediary gaming system 600 (see FIG. 7), such asthe one shown and described in connection with FIG. 8. In someembodiments, the gaming system 600 (see FIG. 7) may match remotelylocated players to tables 682 and facilitate transfer of informationbetween user devices 620 and tables 682, such as wagering amounts andplayer option elections, without managing gameplay at individual tables.In other embodiments, functions of the table manager 686 may beincorporated into a gaming system 600 (see FIG. 7).

The table 682 includes a camera 670 and optionally a microphone 672 tocapture video and audio feeds relating to the table 682. The camera 670may be trained on the dealer 680, play area 687, and card-handlingsystem 684. As the game is administered by the dealer 680, the videofeed captured by the camera 670 may be shown to the player using theuser device 620, and any audio captured by the microphone 672 may beplayed to the player using the user device 620. In some embodiments, theuser device 620 may also include a camera, microphone, or both, whichmay also capture feeds to be shared with the dealer 680 and otherplayers. In some embodiments, the camera 670 may be trained to captureimages of the card faces, chips, and chip stacks on the surface of thegaming table. Known image extraction techniques may be used to obtaincard count and card rank and suit information from the card images. Anexample of suitable image extraction software is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 7,901,285, issued Mar. 8, 2011, to Tran et al., the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated in this disclosure in its entirety by thisreference.

Card and wager data in some embodiments may be used by the table manager686 to determine game outcome. The data extracted from the camera 670may be used to confirm the card data obtained from the card-handlingsystem 684, to determine a player position that received a card, and forgeneral security monitoring purposes, such as detecting player or dealercard switching, for example. Examples of card data include, for example,suit and rank information of a card, suit and rank information of eachcard in a hand, rank information of a hand, and rank information ofevery hand in a round of play.

The live video feed permits the dealer to show cards dealt by thecard-handling system 684 and play the game as though the player were ata live casino. In addition, the dealer can prompt a user by announcing aplayer's election is to be performed. In embodiments where a microphone672 is included, the dealer 680 can verbally announce action or requestan election by a player. In some embodiments, the user device 620 alsoincludes a camera or microphone, which also captures feeds to be sharedwith the dealer 680 and other players.

The card-handling system 684 may be as shown and described previously inconnection with FIG. 3. The play area 686 depicts player positions forplaying the game, such as shown in FIG. 2. As determined by the rules ofthe game, the player at the user device 620 may be presented options forresponding to an event in the game using a client as described withreference to FIG. 7.

Player elections may be transmitted to the table manager 686, which maydisplay player elections to the dealer 680 using a dealer display 688and player action indicator 690 on the table 682. For example, thedealer display 688 may display information regarding where to deal thenext card or which player position is responsible for the next action.

In some embodiments, the table manager 686 may receive card informationfrom the card-handling system 684 to identify cards dealt by thecard-handling system 684. For example, the card-handling system 684 mayinclude a card reader to determine card information from the cards. Thecard information may include the rank and suit of each dealt card andhand information.

The table manager 686 may apply game rules to the card information,along with the accepted player decisions, to determine gameplay eventsand wager results. Alternatively, the wager results may be determined bythe dealer 680 and input to the table manager 686, which may be used toconfirm automatically determined results by the gaming system.

Card and wager data in some embodiments may be used by the table manager686 to determine game outcome. The data extracted from the camera 670may be used to confirm the card data obtained from the card-handlingsystem 684, to determine a player position that received a card, and forgeneral security monitoring purposes, such as detecting player or dealercard switching, for example.

The live video feed permits the dealer to show cards dealt by thecard-handling system 684 and play the game as though the player were ata live casino. In addition, the dealer can prompt a user by announcing aplayer's election is to be performed. In embodiments where a microphone672 is included, the dealer 680 can verbally announce action or requestan election by a player. In some embodiments, the user device 620 alsoincludes a camera or microphone, which also captures feeds to be sharedwith the dealer 680 and other players.

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram showing elements of computingdevices that may be used in systems and apparatuses of this disclosure.A computing system 640 may be a user-type computer, a file server, acomputer server, a notebook computer, a tablet, a handheld device, amobile device, or other similar computer system for executing software.The computing system 640 may be configured to execute software programscontaining computing instructions and may include one or more processors642, memory 646, one or more displays 658, one or more user interfaceelements 644, one or more communication elements 656, and one or morestorage devices 648 (also referred to herein simply as storage 648).

The processors 642 may be configured to execute a wide variety ofoperating systems and applications including the computing instructionsfor administering wagering games of the present disclosure.

The processors 642 may be configured as a general-purpose processor suchas a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the general-purposeprocessor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine suitable for carrying out processes of the present disclosure.The processor 642 may also be implemented as a combination of computingdevices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

A general-purpose processor may be part of a general-purpose computer.However, when configured to execute instructions (e.g., software code)for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure thegeneral-purpose computer should be considered a special-purposecomputer. Moreover, when configured according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, such a special-purpose computer improves thefunction of a general-purpose computer because, absent the presentdisclosure, the general-purpose computer would not be able to carry outthe processes of the present disclosure. The processes of the presentdisclosure, when carried out by the special-purpose computer, areprocesses that a human would not be able to perform in a reasonableamount of time due to the complexities of the data processing, decisionmaking, communication, interactive nature, or combinations thereof forthe present disclosure. The present disclosure also provides meaningfullimitations in one or more particular technical environments that gobeyond an abstract idea. For example, embodiments of the presentdisclosure provide improvements in the technical field related to thepresent disclosure.

The memory 646 may be used to hold computing instructions, data, andother information for performing a wide variety of tasks includingadministering wagering games of the present disclosure. By way ofexample, and not limitation, the memory 646 may include SynchronousRandom Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM),Flash memory, and the like.

The display 658 may be a wide variety of displays such as, for example,light-emitting diode displays, liquid crystal displays, cathode raytubes, and the like. In addition, the display 658 may be configured witha touch-screen feature for accepting user input as a user interfaceelement 644.

As nonlimiting examples, the user interface elements 644 may includeelements such as displays, keyboards, push-buttons, mice, joysticks,haptic devices, microphones, speakers, cameras, and touchscreens.

As nonlimiting examples, the communication elements 656 may beconfigured for communicating with other devices or communicationnetworks. As nonlimiting examples, the communication elements 656 mayinclude elements for communicating on wired and wireless communicationmedia, such as for example, serial ports, parallel ports, Ethernetconnections, universal serial bus (USB) connections, IEEE 1394(“firewire”) connections, THUNDERBOLT™ connections, BLUETOOTH® wirelessnetworks, ZigBee wireless networks, 802.11 type wireless networks,cellular telephone/data networks, and other suitable communicationinterfaces and protocols.

The storage 648 may be used for storing relatively large amounts ofnonvolatile information for use in the computing system 640 and may beconfigured as one or more storage devices. By way of example and notlimitation, these storage devices may include computer-readable media(CRM). This CRM may include, but is not limited to, magnetic and opticalstorage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact discs),DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), and semiconductordevices such as RAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, Flash memory, and otherequivalent storage devices.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the computingsystem 640 may be configured in many different ways with different typesof interconnecting buses between the various elements. Moreover, thevarious elements may be subdivided physically, functionally, or acombination thereof. As one nonlimiting example, the memory 646 may bedivided into cache memory, graphics memory, and main memory. Each ofthese memories may communicate directly or indirectly with the one ormore processors 642 on separate buses, partially combined buses, or acommon bus.

As a specific, nonlimiting example, various methods and features of thepresent disclosure may be implemented in a mobile, remote, or mobile andremote environment over one or more of Internet, cellular communication(e.g., Broadband), near field communication networks and othercommunication networks referred to collectively herein as an iGamingenvironment. The iGaming environment may be accessed through socialmedia environments such as FACEBOOK® and the like. DragonPlay Ltd,acquired by Bally Technologies Inc., provides an example of a platformto provide games to user devices, such as cellular telephones and otherdevices utilizing ANDROID®, iPHONE® and FACEBOOK® platforms. Wherepermitted by jurisdiction, the iGaming environment can includepay-to-play (P2P) gaming where a player, from their device, can makevalue based wagers and receive value based awards. Where P2P is notpermitted the features can be expressed as entertainment only gamingwhere players wager virtual credits having no value or risk no wagerwhatsoever such as playing a promotional game or feature.

FIG. 10 illustrates an illustrative embodiment of information flows inan iGaming environment. At a player level, the player or user accesses asite hosting the activity such as a website 700. The website 700 mayfunctionally provide a web game client 702. The web game client 702 maybe, for example, represented by a game client 708 downloadable atinformation flow 710, which may process applets transmitted from agaming server 714 at information flow 711 for rendering and processinggame play at a player's remote device. Where the game is a P2P game, thegaming server 714 may process value-based wagers (e.g., money wagers)and randomly generate an outcome for rendition at the player's device.In some embodiments, the web game client 702 may access a local memorystore to drive the graphic display at the player's device. In otherembodiments, all or a portion of the game graphics may be streamed tothe player's device with the web game client 702 enabling playerinteraction and display of game features and outcomes at the player'sdevice.

The website 700 may access a player-centric, iGaming-platform-levelaccount module 704 at information flow 706 for the player to establishand confirm credentials for play and, where permitted, access an account(e.g., an eWallet) for wagering. The account module 704 may include oraccess data related to the player's profile (e.g., player-centricinformation desired to be retained and tracked by the host), theplayer's electronic account, deposit, and withdrawal records,registration and authentication information, such as username andpassword, name and address information, date of birth, a copy of agovernment issued identification document, such as a driver's license orpassport, and biometric identification criteria, such as fingerprint orfacial recognition data, and a responsible gaming module containinginformation, such as self-imposed or jurisdictionally imposed gamingrestraints, such as loss limits, daily limits and duration limits. Theaccount module 704 may also contain and enforce geo-location limits,such as geographic areas where the player may play P2P games, userdevice IP address confirmation, and the like.

The account module 704 communicates at information flow 705 with a gamemodule 716 to complete log-ins, registrations, and other activities. Thegame module 716 may also store or access a player's gaming history, suchas player tracking and loyalty club account information. The game module716 may provide static web pages to the player's device from the gamemodule 716 through information flow 718, whereas, as stated above, thelive game content may be provided from the gaming server 714 to the webgame client through information flow 711.

The gaming server 714 may be configured to provide interaction betweenthe game and the player, such as receiving wager information, gameselection, inter-game player selections or choices to play a game to itsconclusion, and the random selection of game outcomes and graphicspackages, which, alone or in conjunction with the downloadable gameclient 708/web game client 702 and game module 716, provide for thedisplay of game graphics and player interactive interfaces. Atinformation flow 718, player account and log-in information may beprovided to the gaming server 714 from the account module 704 to enablegaming. Information flow 720 provides wager/credit information betweenthe account module 704 and gaming server 714 for the play of the gameand may display credits and eWallet availability. Information flow 722may provide player tracking information for the gaming server 714 fortracking the player's play. The tracking of play may be used forpurposes of providing loyalty rewards to a player, determiningpreferences, and the like.

All or portions of the features of FIG. 10 may be supported by serversand databases located remotely from a player's mobile device and may behosted or sponsored by regulated gaming entity for P2P gaming or, whereP2P is not permitted, for entertainment only play.

In some embodiments, wagering games may be administered in an at leastpartially player-pooled format, with payouts on pooled wagers being paidfrom a pot to players and losses on wagers being collected into the potand eventually distributed to one or more players. Such player-pooledembodiments may include a player-pooled progressive embodiment, in whicha pot is eventually distributed when a predetermined progressive-winninghand combination or composition is dealt. Player-pooled embodiments mayalso include a dividend refund embodiment, in which at least a portionof the pot is eventually distributed in the form of a refunddistributed, e.g., pro-rata, to the players who contributed to the pot.

In some player-pooled embodiments, the game administrator may not obtainprofits from chance-based events occurring in the wagering games thatresult in lost wagers. Instead, lost wagers may be redistributed back tothe players. To profit from the wagering game, the game administratormay retain a commission, such as, for example, a player entrance fee ora rake taken on wagers, such that the amount obtained by the gameadministrator in exchange for hosting the wagering game is limited tothe commission and is not based on the chance events occurring in thewagering game itself. The game administrator may also charge a rent offlat fee to participate. Specific, illustrative mechanisms forredistributing the lost wagers back to players are described inconnection with FIGS. 12 and 13.

Referring to FIG. 11, shown is a flowchart diagram of a method 800 ofadministering a wagering game, which may be at least partiallyplayer-pooled, according to a player-pooled progressive embodiment. Themethod 800 includes accepting a first mandatory wager, referred toherein as a “poker wager,” as indicated at 802. At least a portion ofthe poker wager is added to a poker pot, as indicated at operation 803.The poker wager may be later resolved by comparing player hands andawarding the poker pot, or at least a portion thereof, to the playerholding a highest ranking poker hand in that round of play. For example,in a five card game, four of a kind would outrank three of a kind.

The poker pot may be a nonprogressive pot; more specifically, all orsubstantially all of the poker pot may be distributed at the conclusionof each round of the wagering game. In some embodiments, the poker wagermay be a mandatory wager to qualify the player for play of theunderlying wagering game. In other embodiments, the poker wager may beoptional, and the wagering game may be administered to a player withoutreceiving the poker wager and without qualifying the player for apotential payout from the poker pot.

At least one game wager may also be accepted, as indicated at 804. Thegame wagers may include, for example, base game wagers (e.g., antewagers, blind wagers, play wagers, raises, and other wagers made on theunderlying wagering game), side wagers, or both. More specifically, thegame wagers may comprise, for example, one or more of the ante, play,power suit, and bonus wagers. At least a portion of each game wager isadded to a game pot, as indicated at operation 805, which game pot maybe a progressive pot.

In some embodiments, acceptance of the at least one game wager qualifiesa player to be eligible to win an award in addition to the payoutsavailable from the underlying game (i.e., the payouts on the ante, play,power suit, and bonus wagers, such as, for example, a progressive payout(e.g., a progressive jackpot awarded to one or more qualifying players).Therefore, in some such embodiments, a progressive wager may bereceived, in addition to the other game wagers received from the player,such as the ante, play, power suit, and bonus wagers. In other suchembodiments, one of the game wagers may be converted to a progressivewager, such as, for example, one or more of the ante, play, power suit,and bonus wagers. In some embodiments, the progressive wager may be amandatory wager to qualify the player for play of the underlyingwagering game. In other embodiments, the progressive wager may beoptional, and the wagering game may be administered to a player withoutreceiving the progressive wager, in addition to any other game wagers,from the player and without qualifying the player to be eligible to winthe progressive payout from the game pot.

In some embodiments, the poker wager and the at least one game wager maybe received as indistinct wagers, with a portion thereof beingdesignated for the poker pot (a non-progressive pot) and another portionbeing designated for the game pot (a progressive pot).

In some embodiments, the game pot may be a pooled or linked pot. Forexample, the game pot may include one or more game wagers accepted frommultiple concurrent wagering games. As another example, the game pot mayinclude pooled progressive wagers from those wagering games currentlybeing played and may include accumulated game wagers from past wageringgames. As specific, nonlimiting examples, the game pot may include allgame wagers accepted from a group of electronic gaming tables or otherlocal wagering game administration devices at a casino, from multiplegroups of remote devices connected to network gaming architecture, orboth. In other embodiments, the game pot may not be pooled, and awardsfor the game wager may be limited to the amounts wagered at a respectiveelectronic gaming table, other local wagering game administrationdevice, or group of remote devices.

The game administrator may take a “rake” (e.g., a commission for thehouse) on at least one wager, such as the poker wager, as indicated atoperation 806, the at least one game wager, as indicated at operation807, or both. In some embodiments, therefore, a rake may be taken on allwagers, or any wager. For example, the house may collect a portion ofthe poker wager at the time the poker wager is placed. Additionally oralternatively, the house may collect a portion of the game wagers at thetime the game wagers are placed.

The rake may be, for example, a fixed percentage of the wagers. Morespecifically, the percentage of the wagers collected for the rake maybe, for example, greater than a theoretical house advantage for theunderlying game. As another example, the rake may be less than anaverage house advantage for play of the wagering game by all players,including average and sub-average players, which may be calculated usinga historical house advantage for the wagering game (e.g., a houseadvantage for the wagering game over the last 5, 10, or 15 years for agiven casino or other gaming establishment). As specific, nonlimitingexamples, the percentage of the wagers (i.e., either or both of thepoker wager and the at least one game wager) collected for the rake maybe between 3% and 8%, between 4% and 7%, or between 5% and 6%. In otherembodiments, the portion of the wagers collected for the rake may be avariable percentage of the wagers or may be a fixed quantity (e.g., aflat fee) irrespective of the total amount for the wagers, a fixedpercentage with a cap, or a time-based fee for increments of timeplaying the wagering game. Thus, in lieu of, or in addition to, a raketaken on one or more wagers, the house may be compensated in a number ofother ways, including, without limitation, a flat fee per round of play,a percentage of wagers made with or without a cap, rental of a player“seat,” or otherwise as is known in the gaming art. All suchcompensation may be generally referred to as a “commission.”

All profits for the house may be made from the rake (or rakes or othercommission) in some player-banked embodiments. In such embodiments,wagered amounts in excess of the rake are distributed either in the formof, for example, a progressive payout (as in a “player-pooledprogressive” embodiment (FIG. 11)), a dividend refund (as in a “dividendrefund” embodiment (FIG. 12)), or some combination thereof. Thus, theprofits for the house may be limited. Such limiting of profits for thehouse and redistribution of wagers back to one or more players mayincrease the attractiveness of the wagering game to both inexperiencedand highly skilled players. Because the amount earned by the house isknown, highly skilled players may perceive that their skill will enablethem to increase winnings, and inexperienced players may be enticed bythe possibility of winning or otherwise earning a portion or all of oneor more of the pots. In other embodiments, the house may make profits onthe rake and on losses from one or more of the wagers (e.g., the ante,play, power suit, and bonus wagers), including losses resulting fromoptimal and suboptimal play.

The rake may be maintained in a rake account, and profits for the housemay be deducted from the rake account. When and if taken from the pokerwagers, the poker wager rake (operation 806) may be taken by, forexample, electronically transferring funds from the poker wagers to apoker pot rake account (e.g., as instructed by a game service 616 (seeFIG. 7) using casino account servers 632 (see FIG. 7)). Likewise, whenand if taken from the game wagers, the game wager rake (operation 807)may be taken by, e.g., electronically transferring funds from the gamepot wagers to a game pot rake account (e.g., as instructed by the gameservice 616 (see FIG. 7) using casino account servers 632 (see FIG. 7)).

In some embodiments, the poker wager may be accepted (operation 802) atthe beginning of a round of administration of the wagering game. One ormore of the game wagers may be accepted (operation 804) at the beginningof the round as well, e.g., the ante, power suit, and bonus wagers. Insome embodiments, additional game wagers may be accepted (operation804), possibly raked (operation 807), and added to the game pot(operation 805) in the intermediate segments of the round of play, e.g.,the play wager.

The underlying wagering game may be played as described above, includingresolving the game wagers received during the round of play, asindicated at operation 808. For example, the underlying wagering gamemay be played at least substantially as described previously inconnection with FIGS. 1 through 3. Payouts to be distributed, as aresult of resolving the game wagers, (e.g., payouts on the ante, play,power suit, and bonus wagers), are paid from the game pot.

It is contemplated that only a portion of the game pot may bedistributed, at operation 806, in the form of payouts on the underlyinggame. At least in embodiments in which the game pot is configured as aprogressive pot (e.g., if one of the game wagers is a progressive wageror one game outcome of a low frequency pays the amount of the pot), allor substantially all of the remaining portion of the game pot may bedesignated for a potential progressive payout. For example,administering the player-pooled progressive embodiment of theplayer-pooled wagering game may include determining whether aprogressive-winning condition has occurred, as indicated at operation810. A progressive-winning condition may be predefined as apredetermined winning hand combination being dealt, which may result inan award of, for example, a portion of the game pot, or a premiumwinning hand composition being dealt, which may result in an award of,for example, an entire amount of the game pot. If such aprogressive-winning condition has occurred during the round of gameadministration, a progressive payout may be awarded to thewinning-hand-holding player, with the progressive payout being paid fromthe game pot, as indicated at operation 812. As just one example, a gamemay pay a progressive payout for achieving a hand ranked a full house orbetter, a four of a kind or better, a straight flush, or only a royalflush. If no progressive-winning condition has occurred, a progressivepayout may not be paid from the game pot, but, rather, the game potbalance may be carried forward for the next round of play and so on, asindicated at operation 814, until a progressive-winning condition occursduring a subsequent round. Thus, the game pot may not be awarded at theend of each round of play, but may grow during each successive round inwhich no player is dealt a predetermined winning hand combination or apremium winning hand composition. However, if the underlying gamepayouts distributed at operation 808, or if a progressive payout isawarded at operation 812, without draining the game pot, the game potmay decrement until the game pot contributions, at operation 805,rebuild the game pot.

A predetermined winning hand combination may be, for example, a four ofa kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, a three of a kind, two pair,or one pair. The hands qualifying as new winning hand combinations maybe predetermined at the beginning of each round of play in someembodiments. In other embodiments, new winning hand combinations may bepredetermined at the beginning of play and may remain fixed until it isdetermined that at least one player hand achieves a predeterminedwinning hand combination, at which time new winning hand combinationsmay be predetermined. In still other embodiments, the hand combinationsqualifying as winning hand combinations may be predetermined at theoutset of the wagering game and remain fixed for the duration of thewagering game. The hands qualifying as winning hand combinations may bepredetermined at random from a list of possible winning handcombinations, from among a schedule with a fixed rotation of possiblewinning hand combinations, or using a fixed table of winning handcombinations.

A premium winning hand composition may be, for example, a four of akind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. The hand compositionsqualifying as premium winning hand compositions may remain fixedthroughout the duration of the wagering game or may change during thewagering game. For example, after it has been determined that a playerhand has achieved a premium winning hand composition, the handcompositions qualifying as premium winning hand compositions may be mademore restrictive or less restrictive. As a specific, nonlimitingexample, after identification of a player hand achieving a straightflush, the hand compositions qualifying as premium winning handcompositions may be restricted to royal flushes or may be expanded toinclude four of a kinds. The hands qualifying as premium winning handcompositions may be predetermined at random from a list of possiblepremium winning hand compositions, following a schedule with a fixedrotation of possible premium winning hand compositions, or according toa fixed table of premium winning hand compositions.

In embodiments in which the game pot is a progressive pot, the amountawarded from the game pot for achieving a premium winning handcomposition may be a progressive payout at least as great as a maximumprogressive payout for achieving a predetermined winning handcomposition. For example, the entire game pot may be awarded when aplayer or multiple players are dealt a premium winning hand composition,and only a portion of the game pot may be awarded when a player ormultiple players are dealt a predetermined winning hand combination.

Awarding the game pot or a portion of the game pot may involve creditinga player account with funds from the game pot or may comprisedistributing physical money or physical representations of money fromthe game pot to the player.

Before, between, or after resolving the game wagers (operation 808),determining whether a progressive-winning condition occurred (operation810), awarding a progressive payout (operation 812), or any combinationthereof, the poker wager may be resolved, and the poker pot may beawarded to at least one player, as indicated at operation 816. Eachsuccessive round of receiving wagers, dealing cards, and resolvingwagers may constitute a round of play, and the poker pot may be awardedto at least one player before the end of each round of play. The playerto whom the poker pot is awarded may hold a highest ranking hand of allhands dealt in a round on a table using conventional poker rankings, ora ranking system specific to the disclosed games when compared to thehands of other players at the virtual “table.”

Awarding the poker pot or the portion of the poker pot may involvecrediting a player account of each winning player or may comprisedistributing physical money or physical representations of money to eachwinning player.

In some embodiments, an entire amount of the poker pot may be awarded toat least one player before the end of each round of play. In suchembodiments, the poker pot may be a nonprogressive pot. Awarding theentire amount of a poker pot to at least one player at the end of eachround of play redistributes lost poker wagers attributable to suboptimalplay to other players, rather than to the house.

In some embodiments involving a no-house-advantage poker pot awarded atthe end of each round and a progressive game pot that receives all othergame wagers, all players participating in the wagering game from whomthe at least one game wager has been received may be eligible to win thegame pot or a portion of the game pot. Players who are ineligible to winthe poker pot, and players from whom fold indications have been receivedbut from whom one or more other active wagers in play have beenreceived, may be eligible to win the game pot or a portion of the gamepot.

In some embodiments, the game pot may be seeded with money from the gamepot rake account or a reserve account (as indicated at operation 818) atthe beginning of play, after the game pot or a portion of the game pothas been awarded, or both. In some embodiments, a minimum accountbalance sufficient to cover expected losses is retained whendistributing a progressive payout (operation 812) such that no seedmoney is required in the game pot. For example, the game pot may beseeded from the rake account of the house (operation 818), and the housemay maintain an amount of funds in the rake account sufficient tosignificantly reduce (e.g., to essentially eliminate) the likelihoodthat any payouts made from the rake account and any seeding amountswithdrawn from the rake account exhaust or overdraw the rake account. Insome embodiments, a casino reserve account may be provided to fill therake account in the event of an overdraw. Such seeding may incentivizeplayers to participate in the wagering game, and specifically to place agame wager (e.g., a progressive wager) to be eligible for theprogressive payout from the game pot. In addition, such seeding mayreduce the likelihood that the amount of funds in the game pot may beinsufficient to cover all the payouts to players. For example, where aplayer hand achieves a premium winning hand composition in one round ofplay, a player hand achieves a predetermined winning hand combination inthe immediately following round of play, and a fixed-odds payout is tobe awarded to the player holding the predetermined winning handcombination, the amount seeded to the game pot between those rounds ofplay may be at least as great as the maximum fixed-odds payout awardablefor any predetermined winning hand combination. The game pot may beseeded each time the game pot is awarded in its entirety or each timethe amount in the game pot is lower than the maximum fixed-odds payout.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart diagram of a method 820 of administering awagering game, which may be at least partially player-pooled, accordingto a dividend refund embodiment. The method 820 is largely the same asthe method 800 of the player-pooled progressive (FIG. 11), with theexception that, rather than determining whether a progressive-winningcondition has occurred (operation 810 (FIG. 11)), the method 820includes determining whether a trigger event condition has occurred, asindicated at operation 822, and, if so, distributing the game pot to oneor more past or present players of the wagering game, as indicated atoperation 824 (rather than distributing the game pot as a progressivepayout as at operation 812 (FIG. 11)). In such embodiment, the game potmay accumulate between rounds of play, and, to periodically reduce thebalance, a dividend (e.g., a share of the game pot awarded to eachparticipating player) may be awarded to players from the game pot. Thus,what would otherwise be the profits from lost wagers, less amounts rakedby the house, are redistributed back to the players, rather thancollected by the house as revenue. Thus, the distribution is not apayout on the underlying game, but a refund.

The game pot may be distributed among a plurality of players upon theoccurrence of a predetermined event (referred to herein as a “triggerevent”), as indicated at operation 822. The predetermined, trigger eventmay not be based, for example, on player skill or chance eventsoccurring in the underlying wagering game. The predetermined triggerevent may comprise, for example, determination that at least one playerparticipated for a predetermined number of hands; completed apredetermined number of rounds of play at a given table, electronicgaming machine, or remote gaming device; reached a predetermined timelimit since play commenced; or reached a predetermined amount within thegame pot. The predetermined trigger event or condition may betime-based, pot-based (or pool-based), game-based, amount-based, orother-based. Further details on pot distributions based on predeterminedtrigger events and conditions are disclosed in the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/871,824, filed Apr. 26, 2013, titled“DISTRIBUTING SUPPLEMENTAL POT IN WAGERING GAMES BASED ON PREDETERMINEDEVENT,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entiretyby this reference.

The dividend distributions may be divided at least among playerscurrently participating in the wagering game. In some embodiments, thedividend distributions may also be paid to players who previouslycontributed to the game pot but who have since ceased participating inthe wagering game. In some embodiments, the dividend distributions maynot be paid to players from whom contributions to the game pot have notbeen received since the last dividend distribution was paid. Thepercentage of the game pot refunded to each player as a dividenddistribution may be, for example, approximately equal to the percentageof hands won by each player, the percentage of first pot winnings won byeach player based on game play, the percentage of total wager amountsreceived from each player, the proportional number of wagers receivedfrom each player, the proportional length of time spent playing thewagering game by each player, or an equal percentage for each playereligible to receive a dividend distribution from the game pot.

The dividend refund may be distributed in the form of a credit made tothe receiving players' accounts. In some embodiments, the refund may bepaid without concurrently alerting the player, though the refund may benoticeable when and if the player next checks his or her balance in hisor her player account.

In some embodiments, wagering games may be administered without playersrisking money in connection with the wagers (i.e., “play-for-fun”games). Access to play-for-fun wagering games may be granted on a timeperiod basis in some embodiments. For example, upon initially joiningthe wagering game, each player may automatically be given nonmonetarywagering elements, such as, for example, chips, points, or simulatedcurrency, that are of no redeemable value. After joining, the player maybe permitted to place bets using the wagering elements and a timer maytrack how long the player has been participating in the wagering game.If the player exhausts his or her supply of the wagering elements beforea predetermined period of time has expired, the player may be permittedto simply wait until the period of time passes to rejoin the game, atwhich time access to another quantity of the wagering elements may begranted to the player to permit the player to resume participation inthe wagering game.

In some embodiments, a hierarchy of players may determine the quantityof wagering elements given to a player for each predetermined period oftime. For example, players who have been participating in the wageringgame for a longer time, who have played closest to optimal strategy forthe game, who have won the largest percentage of wagers, who havewagered the most in a play-for-pay environment, or who have won thelargest quantities of wagering elements from their wagers may be givenmore wagering elements for each allotment of time than players who havenewly joined, who have played according to poor strategy, who have lostmore frequently, or who have lost larger quantities of wageringelements. In some embodiments, the hierarchy of players may determinethe duration of each allotment of time. For example, players who havebeen participating in the wagering game for a longer time, who haveplayed closest to optimal strategy for the game, who have won thelargest percentage of wagers, or who have won the largest quantities ofwagering elements from their wagers may be given shorter allotments oftimes to wait for an award of more wagering elements than players whohave newly joined, who have played according to poor strategy, who havelost more frequently, or who have lost larger quantities of wageringelements. In some embodiments, players who have not run out of wageringelements after the period of time has expired may have the balance oftheir wagering elements reset for a subsequent allotment of time. Inother embodiments, players who have not run out of wagering elements maybe allowed to retain their remaining wagering elements for subsequentallotments of time, and may be given additional wagering elementscorresponding to the new allotment of time to further increase thebalance of wagering elements at their disposal. Players may be assignedto different categories of players, which determine the number ofwagering elements awarded. In a given period of time, higher levelplayers, or players who have invested more time playing the game may beallotted more wagering elements per unit of time than a player assignedto a lower level group.

Therefore, in some embodiments, the wagering game may be administered byreceiving wagers (e.g., the ante, play, power suit, and bonus wagers) ofno real-world monetary value, and payouts (e.g., the payouts on theante, play, power suit, and bonus wagers) may be paid withouttransferring real-world monetary value to the players. Such embodiments,referred to herein as “free play-for-fun” embodiments are nonethelesscontemplated as modes of carrying out the methods described herein.

In some embodiments, referred to herein as “social play-for-fun”embodiments, a player may be permitted to redeem an access token of noredeemable face value, such as, for example, points associated with aplayer account (e.g., social media account credits, online pointsassociated with a transacting account, etc.), to compress the period oftime and receive more wagering elements. The access tokens may be soldor may be given without directly exchanging money for the access tokens.For example, access tokens may be allocated to players who participatein member events (e.g., complete surveys, receive training on how toplay the wagering game, share information about the wagering game withothers), spend time participating in the wagering game or in a playeraccount forum (e.g., logged in to a social media account), or viewadvertising. Thus, an entity administering social play-for-fun wageringgames may not receive money from losing player wagers or may not take arake on wagers, but may receive compensation through advertising revenueor through the purchase of access tokens redeemable for timecompressions to continue play of the wagering game or simply to increasethe quantity of wagering elements available to a player.

After receipt of an indication that a player has stopped participatingin a play-for-fun wagering game (e.g., a free play-for-fun embodiment, asocial play-for-fun embodiment), any remaining quantities of thewagering elements may be relinquished by the player and retained by theadministrator, in some embodiments. For example, receipt of anindication that the player has logged out of a play-for-fun wageringgame administered over the Internet may cause any remaining wageringelements associated with a respective player to be lost. Thus, when theplayer rejoins the play-for-fun wagering game, the quantity of wageringelements given to the player for an allotment of time may not bear anyrelationship to the quantity of wagering elements held by the playerwhen he or she quit playing a previous session of the wagering game. Inother embodiments, upon receipt of an indication that a player hasstopped playing, the quantity of wagering elements held by the player atthat time may be retained and made available to the player, along withany additional quantities of wagering elements granted for newallotments of time, upon receipt of an indication that the player hasrejoined the wagering game.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connectionwith the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize andappreciate that the scope of this disclosure is not limited to thoseembodiments explicitly shown and described in this disclosure. Rather,many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodimentsdescribed in this disclosure may result in embodiments within the scopeof this disclosure, such as those specifically claimed, including legalequivalents. In addition, features from one disclosed embodiment may becombined with features of another disclosed embodiment while still beingwithin the scope of this disclosure, as contemplated by the inventors.

1. A method of administering a wagering game, comprising: accepting anante wager from a player on a poker-style game played against a paytable by receiving a physical, monetarily valuable wagering element in adesignated area on a surface of a gaming table; dealing initial cards,at least one card face up, to the player from a set of randomized,physical cards comprising at least one deck of at least 52 standardplaying cards; randomly selecting and displaying a suit selected fromspades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts to be a power suit for a currentround of play; accepting a play wager from the player by receivinganother physical, monetarily valuable wagering element on the surface ofthe gaming table, responsive to which the ante wager remains in play byleaving each wagering element associated with the ante wager in thedesignated area, after presenting the player with the option to placethe play wager or make a player election to fold; dealing an additionalnumber of cards to the player in an amount corresponding to a number ofpower suit cards; resolving the ante and play wagers by comparing a bestfive-card poker hand formable from a total number of cards available tothe player to the pay table; and paying a payout on the ante and playwagers to the player when the best five-card poker hand formable fromthe cards available to the player is a predetermined winning hand bytransferring at least one additional physical, monetarily valuablewagering element to the player, and collecting each wagering elementassociated with the ante and play wagers when the best five-card pokerhand formable from the cards available to the player is not apredetermined winning hand.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdealing at least one of the initial cards face down and subsequentlyrevealing each face-down card to the player after accepting the playwager.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein dealing the additional numberof cards to the player in the amount corresponding to the number ofpower suit cards comprises dealing an additional card available to theplayer for each of the initial cards of the power suit after acceptingthe play wager.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: acceptingan optional power suit wager from the player before designating thepower suit; and paying another payout on the power suit wager to theplayer when a number of the initial cards dealt to the player of thepower suit is greater than or equal to a predesignated winning number.5. The method of claim 4, wherein paying the other payout on the powersuit wager to the player when the number of the initial cards dealt tothe player of the power suit is greater than or equal to thepredesignated winning number comprises paying the other payout on thepower suit wager to the player when the number of the initial cardsdealt to the player of the power suit is greater than or equal to three.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting an optional powersuit bonus wager from the player before designating the power suit, theoptional power suit bonus wager being associated with a prediction of acharacteristic of the power suit.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising paying another payout on the power suit bonus wager to theplayer when the prediction of the characteristic of the power suitmatches an actual characteristic of the power suit.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising increasing an amount of the payout on atleast the play wager when the prediction of the characteristic of thepower suit matches an actual characteristic of the power suit.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising predesignating at least one suitas an enhanced suit before designating the power suit and, when theenhanced suit is randomly designated as the power suit, performing atleast one of the following actions: increasing an amount of the payouton the ante and play wagers when the best five-card poker hand formablefrom the cards available to the player is a flush of the enhanced suit;returning each wagering element associated with the ante and play wagerswhen the best five-card poker hand formable from the cards available tothe player is not a predetermined winning hand and the cards availableto the player include a royal card of the enhanced suit; dealing anotheradditional card to the player for each of the initial cards of theenhanced suit, such that two additional cards are available to theplayer for each of the initial cards of the enhanced suit; increasing anamount of the payout on the ante and play wagers when the best five-cardpoker hand formable from the cards available to the player is apredetermined winning hand and includes at least one card of theenhanced suit; and increasing an amount of the payout on the ante andplay wagers when the best five-card poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is a predetermined winning hand by multiplying abase amount for the payout by a multiplier equal to a number of cards ofthe enhanced suit in the best five-card poker hand formable from thecards available to the player.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinpredesignating the at least one suit as an enhanced suit beforedesignating the power suit comprises predesignating each suit as aseparate type of enhanced suit wherein performing at least one of thefollowing actions comprises performing a different action for each suitwhen a respective suit is randomly designated as the power suit.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein dealing the initial cards to the playercomprises dealing five cards to the player, four face up and one facedown.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein paying the payout on the anteand play wagers to the player when the best five-card poker handformable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand comprises paying the payout on the ante and play wagers tothe player when the best five-card poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is a pair of kings or better.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein paying the payout on the ante and play wagers to theplayer when the best five-card poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is a predetermined winning hand comprises payingeven money on the ante wager and increasing amounts for increasinglyunlikely hands on the play wager.
 14. A method of administering awagering game, comprising: accepting an ante wager from a player on apoker-style game played against a pay table by receiving a firstphysical, monetarily valuable wagering element in a first designatedarea on a surface of a gaming table; accepting a mandatory power suitwager from the player on a subsequently designated power suit byreceiving a second physical, monetarily valuable wagering element in asecond designated area on the surface of the gaming table; dealinginitial cards, at least one card face up and at least one card facedown, to the player from a set of randomized, physical cards comprisingat least one deck of at least 0 standard playing cards; randomlydesignating a suit selected from spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts tobe a power suit for a current round of play; accepting a play wager fromthe player by receiving a third physical, monetarily valuable wageringelement on the surface of the gaming table, responsive to which the anteand power suit wagers remain in play by leaving each wagering elementassociated with the ante and play wagers in their respective designatedareas, after presenting the player with the option to place the playwager or make a player election to fold; after accepting the play wager,revealing each face-down card to the player; after accepting the playwager, dealing an additional card available to the player for each ofthe initial cards of the power suit; resolving the ante and play wagersby comparing a best five-card poker hand formable from a total number ofcards available to the player to the pay table; paying a payout on theante and play wagers to the player when the best five-card poker handformable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand by transferring at least one additional physical,monetarily valuable wagering element to the player, and collecting eachwagering element associated with the ante and play wagers when the bestfive-card poker hand formable from the cards available to the player isnot a predetermined winning hand; resolving the power suit wager bydetermining whether a number of the initial cards dealt to the player ofthe power suit is greater than or equal to a predesignated winningnumber; and paying another payout on the power suit wager to the playerwhen the number of the initial cards dealt to the player of the powersuit is greater than or equal to the predesignated winning number bytransferring at least another additional physical, monetarily valuablewagering element to the player, and collecting each wagering elementassociated with the power suit wager when the number of the initialcards dealt to the player of the power suit is less than thepredesignated winning number.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising accepting a power suit bonus wager from the player beforedesignating the power suit, the power suit bonus wager being associatedwith a prediction of a characteristic of the power suit.
 16. The methodof claim 15, further comprising paying another payout on the power suitbonus wager to the player when the prediction of the characteristic ofthe power suit matches an actual characteristic of the power suit. 17.The method of claim 15, further comprising increasing an amount of thepayout on the ante and play wagers when the prediction of thecharacteristic of the power suit matches an actual characteristic of thepower suit.
 18. The method of claim 14, further comprisingpredesignating at least one suit as an enhanced suit before designatingthe power suit and, when the enhanced suit is randomly designated as thepower suit, performing at least one of the following actions: increasingan amount of the payout on the ante and play wagers when the bestfive-card poker hand formable from the cards available to the player isa flush of the enhanced suit; returning each wagering element associatedwith the ante and play wagers when the best five-card poker handformable from the cards available to the player is not a predeterminedwinning hand and the cards available to the player include a royal cardof the enhanced suit; dealing another additional card to the player foreach of the initial cards of the enhanced suit, such that two additionalcards are available to the player for each of the initial cards of theenhanced suit; increasing an amount of the payout on the ante and playwagers when the best five-card poker hand formable from the cardsavailable to the player is a predetermined winning hand and includes atleast one card of the enhanced suit; and increasing an amount of thepayout on the ante and play wagers when the best five-card poker handformable from the cards available to the player is a predeterminedwinning hand by multiplying a base amount for the payout by a multiplierequal to a number of cards of the enhanced suit in the best five-cardpoker hand formable from the cards available to the player.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein predesignating the at least one suit as anenhanced suit before designating the power suit comprises predesignatingeach suit as a separate type of enhanced suit wherein performing atleast one of the following actions comprises performing a differentaction for each suit when a respective suit is randomly designated asthe power suit.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein dealing the initialcards to the player comprises dealing five cards to the player, fourface up and one face down.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein payingthe payout on the ante and play wagers to the player when the bestfive-card poker hand formable from the cards available to the player isa predetermined winning hand comprises paying the payout on the ante andplay wagers to the player when the best five-card poker hand formablefrom the cards available to the player is a pair of kings or better. 22.The method of claim 14, wherein paying the other payout on the powersuit wager to the player when the number of the initial cards dealt tothe player of the power suit is greater than or equal to thepredesignated winning number comprises paying the other payout on thepower suit wager to the player when the number of the initial cardsdealt to the player of the power suit is greater than or equal to three.